Mal's Haunted Past
by Miss FairyTales
Summary: With the start of a new school year, King Ben decides that it is time to bring over some new villain kids from the Isle of the Lost. Mal is hesitant about this at first, but in the end reluctantly agrees. Who are these new kids and why do they make Mal so uncomfortable? Will they choose to be good like the last 4, or do they also have an ulterior motive?
1. More?

Descendants Fanfiction – Mal's Haunting Past

Chapter 1: Four More?

Ben P.O.V.

It's been a year since Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos came to Auradon. For the most part, it was a complete success. It was a little bumpy at first, but after the Coronation things were back on track and running smoothly. I got three best friends and a girlfriend out of it all. However, I feel like it's time to bring more kids over. I love Mal and the others, so much, but there are so many more kids on the Isle that need our help. I'll bring them all over if I have to. I need to run this by Fairy Godmother first. Then, I have some research to do.

I left my dorm room and headed to Fairy Godmother's office. I decided to find Mal and the others on the way over. I wanted to know what they thought of the whole idea. I strayed from my path to Fairy Godmother's office and took a detour towards the picnic tables. That was their favorite spot to just hang out together. I spotted Mal from across the field. I could easily find her in a sea of people. To be honest though, the purple hair really helped. No one really had any colorful hair in Auradon. Especially not at Auradon Prep. It was mostly brunettes, blondes, redheads, and people with black hair (there is no noun for people with black hair. I looked it up) Carlos, Evie, and Mal had the most colorful hair I had ever seen. From my understanding, colorful hair was kind of a thing on the Isle.

I finally reached the table where Mal, Jay, Evie, Doug, and Carlos were sitting. Mal was sketching something in the sketchbook I had gotten her a little while ago. I had somehow managed to convince her to sign up for an art class. Evie and Doug were studying for some kind of science class, but to me they were speaking a completely different language. Carlos was playing with Dude. Jay was watching some old tourney games. Not that he really needed to do any 'studying' for the upcoming tryouts. He was a natural. I stood behind Mal and gently placed my hands on her shoulders so I wouldn't startle her too much. She was sketching Evie and Doug together. Everyone saw the pair as a couple, but they were too shy to see it themselves.

"That looks beautiful. I think they're going to love it," I whispered in Mal's ear. She showed a small smile without looking away from the drawing.

"I hope so. It's is extremely hard to draw people who keep talking about geeky science stuff," Mal joked loud enough for Evie and Doug to hear.

"Hey! What has science ever done to you?" Evie responded as she giggled a bit. I sat down next to Mal. She finally looked away from her drawing and up at me. After looking me in the eyes, her smile faded.

"What's on your mind, Ben?" She questioned me while I stared into her mesmerizing green eyes. I don't know how she managed to tell that I was thinking hard about something. But then again, she was Mal. She knew me better than practically anyone.

"How did you know there was something on my mind?" I quizzed curiously. I knew she was just amazing like that, but at the same time, I really wanted to know. She pointed to the bridge of my nose.

"You get a little wrinkle there when you're concentrating on something," Mal explained as I crossed my eyes so I could see what she was talking about. This made her laugh. She asked Evie for her magic mirror. Evie handed it over before returning back to her studies. Mal placed the mirror in front of me so I could see. And I did see what she meant. There, on the bridge of my nose, was the faintest, smallest wrinkle I had ever seen.

"Good eye," I complimented as she handed the mirror back to Evie. She looked back at me and stared me right in the eyes.

"So what is on your mind?" She repeated her question. I really thought about this. Being King means a lot of responsibilities. A lot of responsibilities means that there was a lot on my mind. I narrowed it down to one thing. The new descendants. I remembered that that was the reason I had sought her out in the first place.

"I need your complete and honest opinion on something," I stated in the best 'official' voice I could muster. Mal held back a small burst of laughter upon hearing this, but I could still see it in her eyes. She quickly calmed herself and nodded for me to continue. "What do you think about bringing over four new descendants to Auradon?" My statement caused everyone at the table to stop what they were doing and look at me.

"You want to bring _**more**_ villain kids from the island?" Doug asked curiously as he closed his science textbook. All eyes were on me.

"I just feel like we should give more kids a chance to prove themselves. There are so many more that are trapped on that floating prison. Besides, it can't be that bad, can it. I mean, weren't you four the worst of the worst?" I explained my thoughts to the group. Once I said that last part Evie and Mal shared a look that I didn't quite understand.

"I guess you could say that. We were feared by pretty much everyone on the Isle," Evie said, her eyes never leaving Mal's. There was something going on here, but I decided that it wasn't really my place. If they didn't want to share, then I wasn't going to force them to.

"Who did you choose to bring?" Jay asked as Mal and Evie finally broke their eye contact. I thought about this and realized that I hadn't really thought of who to bring over yet/

"I don't know yet. I was going to run the idea by Fairy Godmother. Then I was going to look through the files we have about the Isle of the Lost," I informed the others as Mal and Evie seemed to relax a little bit.

"You have files on us? That is just a little creepy," Carlos seemed to be thinking out loud. When he realized that he had said this, he kind of blushed in embarrassment.

"Well, it's not very detailed. There is a file for everyone. It states the name of the person, who their parents are, physical characteristics, and a bit more. It even includes a little picture," I described without giving too much away. They were my best friends, but I didn't know how much I could tell them.

"I think you should go for it. Just be extremely careful about who you choose," Mal commented. Her eyes held a small, nervous glint. It was there one second, and gone the next. It came and went so quickly that I thought I had imagined it. I probably did. It wasn't like Mal to be nervous about anything. She always faced challenges with a strong and level head.

"Thanks, Mal," I thanked her and everyone else for their input before getting up from the picnic table. I walked away and headed for Fairy Godmother's office. This time I was going to get there without any more distractions. I had reached the door of the building a few minutes later, and I turned back to get one last look at my friends. I expected them to resume their previous positions, but they hadn't. I saw Doug walking away in the other direction, towards the library. Mal, Jay, Evie, and Carlos, however, looked like they were arguing over something. I couldn't really tell from where I was standing. I decided to not worry about it so much. They argued a lot. Mostly about silly things. I continued on inside until I reached my destination. I knocked a couple times and waited patiently outside the door.

"Come on in!" Fairy Godmother called out from inside her office. I slowly opened the door and walked inside. Fairy Godmother was sitting at her desk behind a mountain of papers. The beginning of the year always brought a lot of paper work. "King Benjamin! It is so good to see you! What brings you to my office?" She gave me the warmest smile she could muster without looking too stressed.

"I just came to run an idea by you, but I can see that you are much too busy. I'll come back another time," I turned around and headed for the door.

"No! No, no, no, no! I'm not too busy, Ben!" Fairy Godmother stopped me from leaving. I turned back around to face her once again. "Now, what was your idea?"

"I was just thinking that it's about time we brought over some more kids from the Isle. What do you think?" I questioned her while she filled out some paperwork.

"I think that's a marvelous idea, Ben!" Fairy Godmother exclaimed cheerfully, despite the current stress she was under.

"Thanks, Fairy Godmother. Do you think I could look through some of the files on the Isle of the Lost? I haven't really decided on who I want to bring over yet," I confessed as Fairy Godmother pointed to a small filing cabinet in the back corner of her office. It was a little dusty and the only part of the room that wasn't overrun by files. I nodded my understanding as she tossed me the keys. That is where I spent the next few hours of the day. Looking through file after file, villain after villain. I almost gave up hope of finding the new kids. Nevertheless, I kept searching, and I finally found the kids I had been looking for.


	2. The Perfect Group

Descendants Fanfiction – Mal's Haunting Past

Chapter 2: The Perfect Four

Ben P.O.V.

I had been looking through these dusty old files for hours. Mal had even texted me a few times, asking me where I was. Each time I responded with the same answer. _In Fairy Godmother's office. Looking for the right kids to choose. Sorry it's taking so long. Hopefully I'll be done in a little bit._ It got to the point where she thought I was just copy and pasting my reply. Which I of course was not doing. Doug also kept texting me. He reminded me of lunch. A reminder which I ignored. He tried to warn me that Mal was getting slightly annoyed with me. He also reminded me that tonight was game night. I had totally forgotten about game night! I was so glad that Doug had reminded me. He was like a brother to me, and I was extremely grateful to have him around.

It took some time, but I finally found the perfect four kids that would be moved to Auradon. I couldn't wait to tell Mal the news. I quickly took pictures of the files. I made sure to put everything back as I had found it. Fairy Godmother had gone to an important meeting, so I was alone in the office. She had given me a spare key and told me to lock the door when I left. I quickly did this and walked briskly to Mal's dorm. I stopped at the cafeteria and the gardens on the way there. I was pretty sure Mal was in a one of her moods, which she didn't get very often anymore, so I didn't want to see her without being fully prepared.

I arrived at her door about half an hour later. 2 hours until game night. I was cutting it close. I placed the treats I had gotten for her behind my back before knocking a couple times. Thankfully, she wasn't too upset and she answered the door.

"Ben," Mal stated. There was annoyance laced in her voice. She glowered at me.

"Hey, Mal. Long time no see, huh?" I tried to joke around, but it wasn't helping my situation. I decided to initiate emergency maneuvers immediately. I pulled a bouquet of purple chrysanthemums and a small bowl of strawberries from behind my back. I saw the tiniest hint of a smile as she accepted the presents.

"Since you are here, I'm assuming you chose the new four?" Mal questioned while we walked inside. There were a few games stacked on the desks. Accompanied by various snacks.

"It's a surprise," I stated to her annoyance as she placed the strawberries with the other snacks, grabbed a vase, and headed for the bathroom to fill it. I took a seat on her bed. "I'll tell everyone once they arrive." We were going to be joined by Evie, Doug, Jay, Audrey, Carlos, Jane, Chad, and Lonnie. We tried to have a game night every Friday, but sometimes I got so busy, we would have to cancel. I hated canceling on the others because they wouldn't have it without me. I felt like I was depriving them of their fun. Mal pulled me from my thoughts when she returned from the bathroom. The vase was half full with water and she had already put the flowers inside. She placed them on her nightstand and sat down next to me.

"I don't know if I can wait that long. What took you so long to find them anyway?" Mal placed her head on my shoulder and I wrapped my arm around her. I lightly kissed the top of her head.

"I know. I'm dying to tell you, but I'd rather wait until everyone is here. It took me a while to find the perfect people. The ones who I thought needed our help the most," I explained as a knock sounded at the door. Mal got up from the bed and went to answer it. It was Jay, Carlos, Jane, and Audrey.

"Hey, Mal. Hey, Ben," They greeted as they entered the room.

"Hey guys. How are you doing?" I returned. Jane and Audrey sat down opposite of me. Jay and Carlos leaned against the bed posts.

"We're good," Audrey answered for her and Jane. Jay surveyed the area. He seemed to be thinking about something. What is was and how important it was, I didn't know.

"Why do we have these gatherings in this dorm? Even the dorm Carlos and I share would be better than this. This is like the smallest dorm," Jay pointed out. Well, I guess that answered my question. I thought about this for a minute. He had a point. Mal and Evie's dorm was a bit small. Fitting 10 people in here was always a challenge.

"I guess next week we can have it in the castle. I can think of a couple rooms that would be great for game night," I suggested as Jay stopped looking around. He snapped his fingers.

"That, my friend, is a brilliant idea," Jay praised as he walked over to get a snack. Classic Jay. The night hadn't technically began and he was already eating. We waited for the others. Once they arrived, the games began. We laughed and played. I was having so much fun, I nearly forgot about my announcement. Mal had to remind me.

"Ben, weren't you going to tell us who you chose for the new descendants?" Mal questioned right after we finished a game of charades. Chad gave me an incredulous look.

"You were planning on inviting _**more**_ VKs over to Auradon?" Chad asked, not hiding his surprise or annoyance. I thought about what to say.

"Yes, I'm inviting more VKs over to attend Auradon Prep. I spent a few hours searching through the choices before I found the perfect ones," I informed my group of friends. They all wore curious expressions and I could tell they were dying to know who I had chosen. "The ones that I thought needed our help the most are Scott, son of Scar, Lori, daughter of Loki, Gaston Jr and Gaston III, Son of Gaston, and Amy, her parent is unknown. I heard murmurs among my friends, but Mal, Evie, Carlos, and Jay stayed deathly still. It looked like they weren't even breathing.

"Guys is everything okay?" I asked the four, but there was no answer. The others were now watching them as well.

"Evie, is there something wrong?" Doug asked as he place a hand on her shoulder. She flinched a little, but she didn't answer. She looked over at Mal. Mal only shook her head slightly. The other three seemed to understand, but I didn't. Was it something I said? I was terribly confused and worried.

"Everything is fine," Evie stated. Her reply came out short and a little harsh. I could tell they wanted to change the subject, so I did. They were quiet for the rest of the night. None of them would say anything. I mostly let them be, but I regret not trying harder.

 **I wanted to thank everyone for reviewing. I received a lot of positive feedback and I really appreciate all of it. I also wanted to thank pinksakura271 for letting me use Amy and BalDougieJaudreyCaneChonnie for the idea of Scar. I hope you all enjoy the story.**

 **If you want more, I have another Descendants story, The Lost Princess here, and Quest to Find Mal on wattpad (name-mollybunky)**


	3. Worries

Descendants Fanfiction – Mal's Haunting Past

Worries

Mal P.O.V.

"The Legume twins, Amy, Lori, and Scott," Evie complained. (I know that equals 5 and there are only supposed to be 4, but just go with it) We were in our room alone. The others, including Jay and Carlos, had left an hour or two ago. "Could he have chosen a worse group?! Especially after that incident with the twins."

"Tell me about! We can't forget Amy either," I was dreading the arrival of the new kids. "She may be my slightly younger twin sister, but at the moment, she hates my guts." Evie placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder. I gave her a grateful look. Evie was my best friend and practically my sister.

"Well, unless you want to explain the whole situation to Ben…" Evie began, but I cut her off.

"We are _**not**_ telling Ben about what happened," I interrupted. "What happened is in the past and that is where I plan to leave it. Besides, if I told Ben about the incident, he would surely kill the Legume twins." I wouldn't normally think about what happened, but at this moment, I'll make an exception.

A few years ago, the Legume boys asked me and Evie out. I was very against the idea. The boys were just like their father, perverted. Evie, on the other hand, was extremely excited that someone had asked us out. She convinced me to go out with Gaston Jr. I hated every minute of it, but I stuck through it for Evie. I could tell she wasn't happy, but she wasn't sad either. However, one day, Gaston Jr. took it a bit too far. He wanted something that I was certainly not going to give him. Never in a million years would I even consider it. He didn't let that stop him. He pinned me down and tried to forcefully get what he wanted, but I fought him off. He left quite a few marks. Physical and emotional. Evie ran into a similar problem. We did our best to avoid the boys, but when they got too close, Jay and Carlos would force them to back off. They would always lurk in the shadows. Once again, exactly like their father. Always wanting what they couldn't have. In Gaston's case it was Belle. In Gaston Jr. and Gaston III's case, it was me and Evie. (I hope you understood what I mean. I didn't really feel comfortable writing it, so I hope it was obvious.)

"Then, we'll just have to put up with the idiots. Maybe they'll step out of line and Ben will have them sent far, far away," Evie stated hopefully. I shrugged. They were only part of the problem. Evie seemed to sense this and asked the question that I was dreading. "What happened between you and Amy? Why don't you want to see her? You two were so close." I thought about it for a minute.

"We had a big fight a few days before we left for Auradon. She was into the Gaston twins. I tried to warn her to not get to close, but she wouldn't listen. I tried to protect her from them. She got upset. I guess me leaving also increased her anger. I hate that we left off on bad terms, but there isn't anything I can do about it now," I informed Evie. She didn't remove her hand. She used it to gently squeeze my shoulder.

"Well, Amy is a very caring person. Perhaps she has just forgotten all about the fight you two had," Evie suggested. I shook my head slowly.

"Amy isn't the type to just forget. She's the type to hold a grudge. She may be my caring, little sister, but she has a sadistic side," I explained. "I mean, you've seen her when she sees even the tiniest bit of blood." Evie nodded her head in understanding.

Amy P.O.V.

I was sitting with Freddie in her dad's lair. Her father had summoned me for some reason. I don't know what it was. Freddie and I were deep in conversation when the Gaston twins entered the room. My eyes lit up a bit. I have to admit that I am a little bit obsessed with the Gaston twins. No matter how much Mal tried to change my mind, it never worked. Mal… Great, now I'm thinking about Mal. I snarled. At the moment, I hated my slightly older twin sister. I mean, yeah we were close in the past, but she abandoned me when she. How could she?! She hasn't even apologized for what she did. Freddie sensed my sour mood.

"Amy, is everything alright?" Freddie questioned as the snarl fell from my face. My smile returned once again. Freddie was my very best friend. Well, my only friend. In all truth, she reminds me a little of Mal. Hard core and cruel on the outside, but sweet and soft, only towards me, on the inside.

"Yeah, Freddie. I'm good. I was just lost in thought," I explained as I surveyed the room. It was slightly more crowded now with the arrival of Lori and Scott. I turned back to Freddie. "Why has your dad called us all here?" Freddie was about to respond when Dr. Facilier entered.

"That is an excellent question Amy. Can anyone guess why I have brought you all here?" Dr. Facilier asked. He may be one of the most evil villains on the Isle, but he was still a teacher. Gaston Jr. sighed loudly.

"We aren't in school! Stop asking us questions and just tell us already!" Gaston III yelled out. Everyone stifled their laughter, but Dr. Facilier wasn't amused. He glared at the boy who immediately shut up and slightly his behind his brother.

"Fine. I'll just tell you. Although, I don't see the fun in that," Dr. Facilier mumbled. "You five have been chosen by King Ben to attend Auradon Prep." Everyone in the room gasped. Even Lori and Scott, who had been surprisingly quiet.

"I am not going to Auradon! Mal is there!" I complained. At the mention of my twin sister's name, Gaston Jr. got a glint in his eye. I don't know what he was thinking, but I was hoping it wasn't about my sister.

"Mal," Dr. Facilier spat, "is exactly the reason why you are going." I gave Freddie a confused look. She just shrugged and turned her attention back to her father. "Mal and her friends failed at retrieving the Fairy Godmother's wand. You five will be going to Auradon and you will do what the others failed to do. You will steal the Fairy Godmother's wand so the villains can finally have our well-deserved revenge!" _Whatever helps you sleep at night_. I could care less about the stupid wand. I didn't want to be evil. I just happened to be the daughter of the most evil person in the world. I always secretly knew that Mal sisn' want to be evil either. Thinking about being good and happy in Auradon brought a small smile to my face. I quickly got rid of it when I remembered that she abandoned me. I didn't want her to be happy! Or did I? No, I didn't, and that is final. I had to come up with a plan to get back at Mal. I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that I actually missed part of the conversation. "The limo will pick you five up tomorrow morning. So, be ready." Wait, five? Me, Gaston Jr., Gaston III, Lori, Scott, and Freddie. That made six, not five.

"What do you mean five? There are six of us here," I asked as Dr. Facilier gave me an annoyed look.

"Do I need to spell it out for you Amy? You, Lori, Gaston Jr., Gaston III, and Scott," Dr. Facilier stated.

"What about Freddie?" I nearly shouted. I was expected to go to some foreign place without my best friend? There was no way. No flippin' way!

"Freddie was not chosen. She won't be going," I could tell that Dr. Facilier was losing his patience with me. I could also tell that he was disappointed that his daughter wasn't chosen. "That will conclude the meeting. Everyone get out of my lair this instant!" The other four headed out, chatting in their pairs. I didn't move.

"I don't want to leave you, Freddie! I already lost one friend. I can't lose another!" I wailed as Freddie gave me a blank expression.

"Look, Amy, you'll be in Auradon. That is more you're pace. Besides, if you steal the wand, then we can see each other again," Freddie reassured as she patted me on the back. She got up from where we were sitting and followed her father out. I remained seated. I was alone once again. I sighed before getting up and heading out. I had some packing and planning to do. Look out Auradon, here I come!

 **Thank you to everyone who has favorited, followed, reviewed, or has just simply read this story. Big thanks to pinksakura271 for letting me use her OC Amy. I hope I captured her perfectly. If not, please, please, please let me know! I wanted the reveal of Mal and Amy being twins to be a bit more dramatic, but I hope what I have is good enough. Keep an eye out for the next chapter to see what happens next!**


	4. Secrets and Lies

Descendant's Fan Fiction – Mal's Haunted Past

Secrets and Lies

* * *

Amy P.O.V.

I laid awake in bed all night. It had a simple metal frame and a very thin mattress. It was very uncomfortable, but it was either that or the cold, stone floor. I had already packed all of the necessities. All that was left for tomorrow was to get ready and head out. I sighed as I got out of bed. It was no use trying to sleep. I had a lot of thinking to do if I wanted my plan to get back at Mal to go off without a hitch. I walked around the halls of the Bargain Castle. Ever since Mal and the others had locked Mother up, it had been pretty empty in here. I decided to come back and stay here, since I wouldn't have to deal with my mother. I was glad I was going to Auradon. For starters, I could get off of this miserable Island. Second of all, I would make sure that Mal learned her lesson. She wouldn't get away with abandoning me.

* * *

Next morning:

I was positively excited, yet nervous, to go to Auradon. I brushed out my waist-long pink hair and put on my purple rose headband that Mal had given to me a while back. I may be angry at her, but I did love the headband. I glanced in the mirror. It may have been dirty, and a little cracked, but I could see my reflection just fine. My green eyes sparkled. They reminded me a bit of Mal's. I know that I should be hating her, but I also couldn't help but miss her. I was glad that she had found happiness. However, that doesn't change what she did. I sighed before grabbing my bags and heading to the school. That was where I would be meeting the others.

* * *

Lori P.O.V.

I stared at Scott as he finished packing his bag. I had been done packing for a while. His black hair was tousled, but I found it adorable. He was covered in fur. His brown ears stuck out from the side of his head, just like his father's. He also had bright green eyes like his father. He was a spitting image of Scar. The only thing he was missing was the scar on his eye. He had plenty of other scars, though.

"Hey, Scott. What do think about this whole wand thing?" I asked him. I was a little on edge about it. I looked at my reflection. My emerald green, knee-length dress had a few tears in a few spots, but I liked it. I wore a gold belt and a black leather jacket with gold studs, accompanied by a pair of black leather boots. My shoulder length black hair was pulled back by a gold headband with small golden horns on it.

"I think that making the snotty royals pay for what they did to us will be a lot of fun," Scott answered as he zipped up his bag. I rolled my eyes slightly. "And the only way we can make them pay is by getting the wand. Why do you ask, Lori?" I thought about how I should answer.

"Well, I was just thinking. Maybe, it wouldn't be so bad to move to Auradon. You know, with no ulterior motives," I explained as Scott gave me a weird look. I knew he wouldn't understand. "I mean, Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos went to steal the wand and they were the best of us. They chose to be good. Why can't we?" Scott huffed as he walked over to me. He wrapped his arms around my waist and looked me in the eyes.

"They were weak. Sure, they were the best of us, but now we are. Like I said before, those royals need to pay for what they did to us." Scott kissed me lightly on the forehead. "I will make sure they do."

"But, Scott, they haven't done anything to _us_. I've seen the way your father treats you. In Auradon, we can be free from our parents. We can start over. We can be happy together," I tried to convince him, but I could tell it wasn't going to work. He was stubborn. He growled at the mention of his father.

"Lori, you promised," he yelled as he let go of me. "You promised you wouldn't say anything." He grabbed his bag and stormed out the door.

"Scott! Where are you going?!" I yelled after him. I wanted to apologize, but that wouldn't help anything. Scott and I have been friends forever. We started dating a year ago. I knew how much Scott hated to talk about his father, but I was trying to make a point. I guess it kind of blew up in my face. I grabbed my things and headed out after Scott. I hope he wasn't too mad at me.

* * *

Later:

Amy P.O.V.

I was standing with the Legume twins and Freddie in front of Dragon Hall when Scott came storming angrily towards us. Shortly after, Lori arrived, trudging slowly behind him. This was strange because Lori and Scott were always together.

"What do you think happened to them?" I asked Freddie. She wouldn't be coming with us, but I was glad she was there.

"Maybe, they realized who they were. Villains. Everyone knows that villains don't get love or a happy ending," Freddie commented. She couldn't be right. Mal and the others got their happy endings, so why couldn't anyone else.

"Attention, children!" Dr. Facilier shouted. "Now that you are all here, some more late than others…" He glared at Lori as he said this. "We should review the plan." The Legume twins sighed with boredom. As they sighed, their muscles flexed slightly. They were so cute!

"We already know the plan! Even my moronic brother knows it!" Gaston Jr. thundered as Dr. Facilier rolled his eyes.

"Yeah! Fairy Godmother… blah, blah, blah. Magic wand… blah, blah, blah. Revenge… blah, blah, blah," Gaston III teased as the group erupted in laughter.

"Well, Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos knew the plan quiet well. They didn't end up sticking to it. Now did they?" Dr. Facilier yelled at us. The faces of the Legume brothers lit up slightly as Dr. Facilier mentioned the four names. I hoped that they weren't thinking of Mal. I threw up a little in my mouth as I thought about it. I decided to hop onto another train of thought before I actually threw up. A honking noise pulled me out of my thoughts all together. "Ah, well, here is your ride. Don't you dare let us down."

The limo came to a stop in front of us and the driver stepped out. He opened the trunk and waited for us all to put our bags in. Then, he opened the door for us to get in. Lori entered first. Then the twins, and then Scott. Before I got in, I said bye to Freddie.

"I'm going to miss you!" We hugged. "When I get the wand, I'm coming straight for you!"

"I know you will," Freddie stated calmly, as if she wasn't about to be separated from her best friend. I got into the limo and closed the door behind me. Lori was squashed in between the Legume brothers. Scott was sitting next to Gaston III, and I was sitting next to Scott. Lori was incredibly lucky, but my seat wasn't all bad. I got a window seat, and I was sitting next to Scott. We used to be good friends, but we lost contact. I moved on with Freddie and he moved on with Lori. I could never understand why he had chosen Lori. She was hardly a villain, and that was coming from me.

"This stuff is great! Whatever it is," Gaston III cried out as he stuffed his face with some rainbow colored thing. I had been so busy staring out the window, I didn't even notice all the stuff in front of us. Scott smirked and grabbed some as well. I figured that I might as well try some. It actually was pretty good. Lori just sat back with her arms crossed. Gaston Jr. and Gaston III kept tossing stuff in between them and trading their goods. Stuff would land on Lori and she would have to lean really far back to avoid getting an elbow in the face. She could be a real buzzkill. I didn't see the down side to sitting in between the twins. To me it would have been heaven. To her, they were just a couple of nuisances. I don't know why Scott liked her so much. She obviously didn't know how to have fun. I decided to just ask him.

"Hey, Scotty. What's with you and Lori?" I whispered so Lori wouldn't hear me. She mostly stared out the window and avoided the treats and arms, but I could feel her gaze on us every now and then. I didn't care. I enjoyed spending time with Scotty. Besides, making Lori upset and jealous was just a bonus. Payback for something she had done to me a while ago.

"What do you mean?" Scotty asked as he bit into a blue rock type thing. He laughed quietly at her struggle.

"Why do you hang with her?" I elaborated as I studied Lori. From what I could tell, she was quiet and the complete opposite of her father. I guess that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Seeing as I was the opposite of my mother. But she did have _something_ in common with Loki. They shared their ability to stay scary calm and blow up in anger when you least expected it. The aftermath of that anger was usually devastating. She was extremely pretty though. Her short black hair framed her face perfectly. Her blue eyes sparkled. The green and gold complemented her skin perfectly. Plus, she was super slim.

"I like her. I'm sorry if you think that my relationship with Lori is ruining ours," he confessed. I thought about what he said. "It doesn't matter right now, though. We aren't on speaking terms." I smiled. I liked when they were fighting. It meant that I got my favorite feline friend all to myself. I know it sounds rude and a little weird, but what can I say? I love cats!

"It's really no problem," I reassured. "It's pretty much the same with me and Freddie. I basically spend all of my time with her now." We shared a small laugh.

"So, which princess are we going to harass first?" Gaston III asked with a full mouth. Lori looked at him in disgust. I guess saying she that she was the complete opposite of her father was a mistake. They were very similar in some ways. They both had 'royal blood' and were extremely high maintenance and thought they were better than everyone. That is just what I gathered from personal observation. Who knows if it was actually true.

"How about Mal and Evie?" Gaston Jr. suggested as he and his brother did that thing where they smirked and got lost in thought at the mention of their names. It was irritating.

"Well, Gastons, Mal is off limits. I can't wait to see my _dear_ older sister again," There was false sweetness in my voice as I exaggerated the word dear. My eyes glowed red. "If you could all purr-lease do me a huge favor, that would greatly appreciated. If _any_ of you encounter Mal or any of Sleeping Beauty's bratty descendants, leave them to me. And me alone." Scotty gazed at me with what I thought was admiration. Lori looked at me curiously. The Gaston twins just ignored me and continued to fill their faces full of these sweet treats.

"That's cool. No problem with that. But, what about getting the wand for Freddie's pops? The whole island is counting on us," Scotty reminded everyone. "And I believe that you are the smartest one of all of us. So, what is the plan?" He directed the last couple statements towards me. His words only made Lori more irritated. I could only imagine why.

"I honestly don't know what the plan for the wand is. What I do know is that without that wand, I won't see Freddie again," I confessed as I scratched behind Scotty's ears. He always enjoyed it when I did that. I would never admit this to anyone, but he kind of was like my pet. Lori squinted in our direction. The knot of her crossed arms grew tighter. "And she is my best friend."

"Aww, shucks, Amy. Your making me blush!" A sarcastic voice commented. Everyone was surprised, but Lori was the first to respond.

"How in Auradon did you get in here?" She was looking in my direction, but not at me. Everyone followed her gaze.

"Oh my pink, Freddie! I should have known you would sneak in somehow! So, how _did_ you do it?" I questioned curiously. Freddie always found a new way to surprise me.

"I'll never tell," she smirked as I hugged her.

"Freddie," Scotty tipped his imaginary hat in her direction in order to welcome her. For the rest of the ride, Freddie and I talked about my plan to get back at Mal. The Gaston twins continue continued to eat, but they agreed to help me. How big their stomachs were was a mystery. If they were as big as their muscles, then they were pretty big. Lori sat in silence and stared out the window. I expected her to be more mouthy, like her father. Scotty would contribute to my plan every now and then. The trip seemed to last 2 seconds, but finally we arrived in Auradon. You better watch your back Mal, I've got a plan.

* * *

Thank you to pinksakura271 for letting me use her OC and for being so helpful during the writing process. I hope you all enjoyed the new chapter.


	5. The Arrival

Descendants Fan Fiction – Mal's Haunted Past

Mal P.O.V.

I was standing outside of Auradon Prep with Ben, Evie, Doug, Jay, Audrey, Carlos, Jane, Lonnie, and Chad. The band was also there. Evie, Jay, Carlos, and I were standing completely still. I was pretty sure the others kept checking to see if we were still breathing. I was very nervous about seeing Amy and the Legume Twins. I hadn't seen them in a while and I didn't know how they were going to react. I didn't know what they were going to say. My nerves grew as I caught sight of the shiny black limo. Ben took my hand in his and tightened his grip. I think he was trying to be helpful and calm me down, but it wasn't working so well. I was jumpy, which was something I didn't even know that I could be. I was used to people fearing _me_. I glanced back at Evie. She was standing tall and staring straight ahead. Her eyes were drained of almost all emotion. The people who didn't know her well wouldn't have noticed it, but I could see that she was a little scared as well. Doug had his arm placed firmly around Evie's shoulders. I smiled. I was glad that she had found someone as great as Doug.

The limo finally pulled up in front of us and came to a complete stop. The band started to play. I stood as tall as possible and put on my best smile. Hopefully, no one would be able to tell that it was fake. The driver stepped out of the limo and opened the door. Scott was the first to step out. He was as handsome as always. The Legume twins were the next to step out. I heard a small gasp come from Evie. Jay and Carlos stepped forward a tiny bit. The twins got the message and didn't try anything. I tried my best no to look at them, but I could feel the stare of Gaston Jr. I looped my arm through Ben's, hoping it would calm my nerves.

Lori was the next one to step out of the limo. She looked positively irritated and made sure to stand far away from Scott. When I had left the Isle of the Lost, they had just started dating. I could only imagine why they were on bad terms. I offered her a small wave and smile. She returned it with one of her own. Her smile seemed genuine.

Amy was the next to step out of the limo. I heard many startled gasps as they saw Amy. The music stopped abruptly. Evie, Jay, and Carlos didn't respond to any of the hushed questions, and I was grateful. Ben didn't mention anything. He was probably waiting until we were alone, so he wouldn't make a scene. I immediately noticed that she was wearing the headband that I had given her. Seeing that made me feel even worse. Ben stepped forward to begin speaking, but someone else stepped out of the limo. Ben wore a confused look. He turned to me for help. I promptly stepped forth.

"Hello everyone. It's nice to see you all again," I heard a scoff come from the new group. I knew exactly who it belonged to. I decided to ignore it and continue. "I'm glad you could all make it and I hope you enjoy Auradon as much as I do. And Freddie, I see you found a way to sneak in. As always," I greeted as I returned to Ben's side. He gave me a grateful look for starting.

"You know me, Mal. Sneaky as ever," Freddie joked, but she never took her eyes off of Amy. I was glad that Amy still had Freddie by her side. At least she hadn't been lonely.

"I think I'll let King Ben take it from here," I stated while Amy stared daggers at me. She slowly walked over towards the Legume twins. She better not have been doing what I think she was doing.

"Hello everyone. Welcome to Auradon. I'm sure you know Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos already," Ben began as Amy slowly grabbed the hand of Gaston Jr. and held it. He didn't object. I unintentionally let out a small growl. She did exactly what I didn't want her to do. Gaston Jr. and Amy smirked. Ben looked at me. I could tell he was worried, but I nodded for him to continue. "I'll introduce you to the others. Lonnie is the daughter of Mulan and Shang. Chad is the son of Queen Cinderella and King Kit. Doug is the son of the dwarf Dopey. Jane is the daughter of Fairy Godmother, who is also the headmistress here at Auradon Prep. Last, but not least, Audrey is the daughter of Queen Aurora and King Phillip." Everyone's eyes lit up at the mention of Jane, but not Amy's. Her eyes lit up at the mention of Audrey. I could tell what the others were thinking about. The wand, of course. But what was she planning? Before I had time to think on it, Fairy Godmother came marching through the crowd.

"Hello dears! It's so nice to finally meet you all!" Fairy Godmother sang. She looked a lot better. I guess she finally finished her large stack of paperwork. "I'm positive that King Ben has introduced you all. Now, let's go over the ground rules." Fairy Godmother became serious. She was always serious about her rules. "The library hours are from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. I do have a thing for curfews, as you all may have guessed. No one is to be out of their dorm rooms after 12:00 p.m. Classes will start at 9:00 a.m. sharp, but you won't have to worry about them for a couple days." I could see everyone rolling their eyes. I could hear their moans and grunts. I remembered when that was me. I can't believe that it's already been a year. "Oh! One last thing before I forget! King Ben and I have decided that it would be best if you were all paired with a partner. That way, if you have any questions or anything, your partner will be able to help you." After that, Fairy Godmother left. She took the band with her.

"Alright," Ben cleared his throat. He stepped forward so he could properly greet the new VKs. The first person was Scott. "You must be Scott. The son of…" Ben was cut off.

"So, what is your policy on magic here in Auradon?" We all looked in the direction of the voice. It was Lori. Ben headed towards her so he could answer her question. Scott gave Lori an irritated look. She simply ignored it.

"Well, it exists, it is pretty much retired. If you have magic, then you should talk to Fairy Godmother, or maybe Mal. I really can't help you very much in that department," Ben explained as Lori smiled thankfully. Me? Why would I be of any use? He refocused his attention back on Scott, but he seemed to have forgotten what he was talking about. Lori sure was a clever one. "Where was I? Ah, yes. Scott, right?"

"Yeah. I'm Scott," He answered as Ben shook his hand. Them, he moved on down the line. Next, he arrived at Gaston Jr. He and Amy were still holding hands.

"Gaston… um," Ben struggled. He didn't know which one was which. I couldn't blame him. They were identical.

"Gaston Jr.," I aided as Ben gave me another grateful expression. The only reason I knew which one was which was because I grew up on the same island with the oafs. Plus, I dated one of them. Gaston Jr. stared at me for a few seconds and I threw up a little in my mouth. Ben hadn't noticed, but Evie, Jay, and Carlos had.

"I'm guessing that you are Amy," Ben shook her hand. He let his eyes linger on her for a little before moving on to the next twin. I could tell he was curious. "You must be Gaston III."

"You must be the son of Belle," Gaston III observed as he and his brother shared a mischievous grin. Ben was about to respond when Gaston Jr. interjected.

"Yeah. The son of Belle and that beast. What an awful creature," Gaston Jr. insulted as I growled under my breath. Ben simply looked at the twins and then chose to ignore their remarks. I don't know how he did it. He moved forward.

"Freddie. Nice to meet you," He greeted as he reached the final member of the new group. "Hello, Lori." Once he completed the introductions, he rejoined me. "Okay. Now it's time to pick the pairs." I hoped that I got someone good. Or, at least relatively good.

* * *

Thank you to everyone who has read, followed, favorited, or reviewed the story. A big thanks to pinksakura271 for letting me use her OC, Amy.


	6. Partners?

Descendants Fanfiction – Mal's Haunted Past

Evie P.O.V.

I stared at the newcomers. I was a little shocked. I'm not going to lie. I wasn't expecting Freddie, and I had forgotten how identical Mal and Amy were. I did my very best to not make eye contact with Gaston III. I tried very hard to not look his direction at all. He made me uncomfortable. I moved closer to Doug. He tightened his grip on my shoulders in response. I could feel eyes on me. They weren't just Gaston III's eyes. I could tell that my friends kept glancing in my direction. I snapped back to attention when I heard what Ben was saying.

"I think it's only fair that I let you guys choose your own partners," Ben stated. I grew nervous. Partners? I really didn't want to be paired with Amy or either of the Gaston twins. I could tell that Mal didn't either.

"Carlos and I will partner with Gaston Jr. and Gaston III," Jay offered before anyone else could say anything. I sighed with relief. Mal and I gave them grateful looks.

"We will?" Carlos asked, a little confused, as Jay elbowed him in the ribs. "We will!" He gave us an apologetic look. I didn't blame him, I had tried to block them out from my memory as well. The difference was that he seemed to be successful, while I was not. The twins huffed with disappointment. Only the five of us seemed to notice. Me, Mal, Jay, Carlos, and Amy.

"I'll partner up with Lori," I said slowly as she offered me a small smile. All of her smiles seemed to be genuine. I didn't know her that well, but I could tell that she had a great sense of style. I liked that about her. I hoped that we would become good friends.

"I guess I'll be Scott's partner," Doug stated while Scott stared at him blankly. I guess he was bored. I smiled at Doug and place a small kiss on his cheek. I was glad that he was trying to make an effort. He looked at me and returned the smile. Gaston III let out a low growl at the exchange. Mal, being a magical half fairy and all, heard it and let out one of her own. He immediately backed off, but who knows if it will be for long.

"You don't mind if I take Audrey, do you?" Amy asked she was looking right at Mal when she said it. She shocked everyone because that was the first thing she had said. Her voice sent shivers down my spine. It wasn't creepy or anything, but she didn't sound exactly like Mal either. I hadn't seen her in a while so I kind of forgot what her voice sounded like. Mal's voice was a bit rough. While Amy's was very smooth and a bit higher pitched. Her voice was dripping with sweetness. It usually was, but I couldn't tell if all of it was real or not. Audrey looked like she was about to say something, but Mal beat her to it.

"I guess not. I'm just a little disappointed that you didn't want to be with me." Mal put on a fake pout. I held in a giggle as best as I could. Audrey closed her mouth quickly and stepped back. She probably thought that it was best to not get in their way. Audrey was smarter than I initially thought.

Amy glared at Mal. Her shiny green eyes turned into a ruby red. Mal returned the glare, but her eyes turned into a bright shade of emerald green.

"I guess that just leaves you and me, Mal," Freddie spoke up quickly as Mal and Amy broke out of their trance. I guess she was scared of letting it go on for too long. I couldn't blame her. If both of Maleficent's daughters started having a cat fight right here, right now, then we would all be in trouble.

Mal looked back at Amy and Gaston Jr. They hadn't let go of each other's hands yet. I could tell that it was bothering Mal. Not because she was jealous or anything, but because she was genuinely worried for her slightly younger sister. Anyone who knew the Gaston twins, and I mean _**really**_ knew them, would be worried. Her worry was starting to cause her to act rashly. Mal would never have allowed that small fight with Amy to get that far. She wouldn't normally be fighting with her sister at all. They loved each other too much to do that. I know, I know. Mal, loved someone?! Yes, she did. Amy always had a special place in Mal's heart. But if they ever did fight, she would have put a stop to it before it even started.

"Fine with me," Mal responded after a moment.

"Great, then, that's settled," Ben clapped his hands, getting everyone's attention. "If you can't find your partner or don't feel comfortable talking to them for whatever reason, Lonnie, Jane, Chad, and I are also here to help. Now, how about a tour?"

"What about our stuff?" Lori asked just as Ben was about to walk away. Scott rolled his eyes.

"It's just like you to be worried about all of your shiny objects," Scott stated drily. He said 'shiny objects' as if he was trying to imitate her. She stared at him for a second with a blank expression before turning back to Ben. I recognized that look. It was the same look that I had been wearing when the limo first pulled up. However, she wasn't hiding her fear like I had been, she was hiding what I could only guess was pain. I couldn't understand why or what was going on between her and Scott. They had been dating for like a year now. I thought they were happy together. Well, as happy as you could be on the Isle. I guess I didn't really know what happiness was, or even looked like, if I thought that the two people standing in front of me were happy.

"Don't worry about it. Someone will come and take it to your room," Ben said as he eyed the two. I'm sure he was wondering what was going on between them as well. He would probably drag us, or at least Mal, aside later to figure out what was going on. "Let's start with that tour."

"Actually, Ben, do you mind if we leave you to it? We have something that we need to do," Audrey pleaded as the other AKs nodded along with her. I looked at Doug questioningly.

"We are planning a party in their honor," Doug whispered so only I could here. A party? I loved parties! Wait… Why didn't we get a party? I'll have to talk to Doug about that later. I nodded my understanding as her removed his arm from around my shoulders. He pulled me into a hug before placing a light kiss on my forehead. I smiled. Doug made me happy. Doug made me really happy.

"Well, I guess so. I don't see why not," Ben reluctantly dismissed the others. Jane and Audrey hugged Carlos and Jay before leaving.

"I'll text you later!" Chad called over his shoulder. Ben gave a slight wave in response. Now it was just me, Ben, Mal, Jay, Carlos, and all of the new kids from the Isle.

"Now, shall we **_actually_** get started on this tour?" Ben paused a moment to make sure that no one was going to interrupt him. "Auradon Prep, originally built 300 years ago and converted to a high school by my father when he became king."

"That beast didn't deserve to be the king," Gaston Jr. muttered under his breath. Ben ignored the comment and led our group over to the statue that sat in front of the school. I had a feeling that this was going to be a long tour.

* * *

 **Thank you all for reading, reviewing, following, or favoriting the story. A big thanks to pinksakura271 for allowing me to use her OC Amy, for helping me, and for giving many wonderful suggestions. If you like this Descendants fanfic, then maybe you'll like my other Descendants fanfic, The Lost Princess.**


	7. Getting Settled

Descendants Fan Fiction – Mal's Haunted Past

Mal P.O.V.

After the tour was completed, Ben had asked Evie, Jay, and Carlos to show the new VKs to their dorm rooms.

"Actually, before you all go, one of the girls should go see Fairy Godmother about finding a dorm," Ben stated nervously. I could tell that he meant Freddie, but he just didn't want to say so. "You see we only planned for two girls, not three." The three girls looked around at each other before one of them stepped forward. She surprised everyone when she did.

"I'll go," Lori stated as Amy wore a shocked expression on her face. "Which way to Fairy Godmother's office?" Ben pointed down the corridor to the left. She started walking when Scott spoke up.

"Did I just hear you correctly, are you actually _**volunteering**_ to move out of your dorm so Amy and Freddie can share a room?" Scott had an incredulous look plastered on his face as she stopped in her tracks.

"Why is that so hard to believe?" Her words were a little quiet. She kept looking straight ahead and didn't even turn to look at him. I could tell that she wasn't in the mood to talk to Scott.

"It just doesn't seem like something you would do." She was quiet for a minute before she twirled around to look Scott in the eyes. I could see that they held a great deal of pain. I looked over at Evie. She had noticed it as well, but no one else seemed to. I just couldn't figure out if that pain was physical or emotional.

"Then you don't know me at all," Lori looked as if she was about to cry as Amy scoffed. Before anyone could say anything else on the matter, she quickly turned back around and speed walked down the hall.

"I guess that settles that then," Ben let out a nervous chuckle. "Well, I'll see you all later. If you have any questions you know where to find your partner, me, any of the others, or even Fairy Godmother," Ben stated as the group dispersed. I started walking with Evie, but Ben gently grabbed my hand and pulled me aside.

"Yes?" I asked, but I already knew what he was going to say.

"Why didn't you tell me that Amy was your sister? Your _**twin**_ sister?" He questioned as he pulled me into a hug.

"I don't know, Ben."

"So, you lied to me when you told me that you were an only child?" He quizzed.

"I'm sorry about that. I really am. But, I was trying to protect my sister," I apologized for lying, but I didn't regret it. I knew that Ben could see that and that he understood.

"If you don't mind me asking, what happened between you two anyway?" I looked him in the eyes. I guess now is a good a time as any to tell him the truth. Maybe not the whole truth, but at least a part of it.

"We used to be really close, but we got into a big fight before I left for Auradon. I didn't try to fix things before I left, and me leaving only made the situation worse," I explained as I buried my face into his chest.

"Okay. What about Lori and Scott?" I turned my head slightly so I could talk.

"Well, they have been friends for as long as I can remember. Lori had been staying with Scott and his father after Loki had been captured and imprisoned back in Asguard. Thor thought that it would be best if she remained here in Auradon. They started dating about a year ago. I don't know why they are on bad terms now," I enlightened.

"Wow. So what's the deal with Scott's dad, Scar?" Ben inquired as I looked up at him. I must have looked confused because he continued. "Well, Lori cut me off before I could say his name and Scott growled at her for doing so. I figured she was just trying to distract me, so I didn't push the subject any further."

"Oh. Scott doesn't like to talk about his father. He gets super angry if you do. Lori was probably just trying to help. Scott was probably just annoyed at her for doing so. He considers himself to be independent." I had noticed what Lori had done, but I didn't know that Ben had noticed it too. That was one of the reasons I loved him so much. He genuinely cared for everyone, even if he didn't know them. Plus, he paid very close attention to every detail. "So what is the deal with this party?"

Ben looked down at me. "How did you find out about that?"

"I overheard Doug tell Evie about it before he took off," I stated as if it were obvious.

"How did you manage to do that?" Ben asked curiously. "I was standing right next to them and I couldn't hear anything."

"Well, you don't have super sensitive half fairy hearing like I do."

"Ah, so it's a fairy thing," Ben called out as if it were the most important revelation of the century. We shared a laugh and I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before we headed our separate ways. Ben went to Fairy Godmother's office to make sure that everything with Lori was going smoothly. I went to meet up with Evie. She was with Amy and Freddie in their dorm room. Which, coincidently, was right next to ours. I decided that I should try to apologize to Amy. It would be best if I did it now, so we could enjoy our time together and I could show her everything that I enjoyed in Auradon. On my way there, I thought about what I wanted to say to her.

* * *

Evie P.O.V.

I was sitting with Amy and Freddie in their dorm room. Mal had texted me a few minutes ago saying that she was on her way.

"So, what's going on between you and that dwarf?" Freddie asked as she tried to break the silence.

"His name is Doug, and we are really good friends," I informed as Freddie nodded along.

"Come on! You can't be serious!" Freddie scoffed as I gave her a confused look. "You like him a lot. He likes you a lot. Why aren't you two together already?!"

"Does Mal love King Ben?" Amy blurted out before I could say anything. I could tell that she had been thinking about it a lot.

I was a little surprised by the question, so it took me a minute before I actually answered it. "Of course she does. She wouldn't turn Maleficent into a lizard for just anybody," I was joking with that last statement, but the others didn't find it very funny. "Tough crowd." I mumbled under my breath.

"Does King Ben love Mal?" She continued with her questions.

"Yes, he does. He loves her very much. Why are you asking?" Before Amy could answer, there was a knock at the door. "That's probably just Mal." I got up to answer it. When I opened the door, I was surprised to see that it wasn't Mal, but Gaston Jr. My heart began to pound in my chest. I hoped that he couldn't hear it.

"What about Mal?" He asked slyly.

"She isn't here," I stated coldly.

"That's too bad, I really wanted to see her." He leaned against the door frame as he tried to be cool. It wasn't working. At least, not on me. I heard a sigh coming from behind me. I turned around and saw Amy staring at him as if he were some kind of movie star or something. I rolled my eyes. Mal was right to be worried.

"Look, Gaston Jr., if that is the only reason why you came by, then you better just go. And if you try to speak to Mal ever again, I will make sure that you regret it. Same goes to your brother. I want you both to stay away from us," I spat out before pushing him back and slamming the door in his face. I leaned up against the closed door and closed my eyes. I took a few deep breaths. My heart was racing. On the outside, I was as cool as a cucumber, but on the inside, I had been terrified. One thing that I had learned on the Isle that certainly came in handy was to never show your true emotions, especially in front of the enemy. Of course, I made a few exceptions to that rule.

"What was that about?" Freddie asked.

"Isn't he just the cutest?" Amy stated, still in some kind of trance, before I could answer Freddie. I was getting a little annoyed that she kept on cutting me off.

"Uh, Amy. Are you okay?" Freddie asked the pink haired fairy as she finally snapped back to reality.

"Yeah. I'm all good. Why do you ask?"

"Because you went all ga ga when Gaston Jr. showed up," I explained as Freddie and I shared a look. Before Amy could explain herself, there was another knock at the door. I growled.

"I swear, if it's you Gaston, I will…" I started yelling as I opened the door. "Mal!" I squealed with delight as I hugged her.

"Is everything alright, E? What's going on?" She wore a concerned look.

"Nothing I can't handle. What's going on with you?"

"I just wanted to speak with Amy," She said as she looked over my shoulder and in the direction of her twin sister.

"Well, it's going to have to wait," Amy huffed as she stood up.

"Why is that?" Mal questioned her slightly younger sister.

"Freddie and I promised our friends that we would meet up with them once we got settled," She grabbed Freddie by her arm and started to drag her towards the door. Freddie nearly fell over as she was pulled off of her chair. She tried her best to keep up with Amy, but she was still being dragged behind. We both knew that she wasn't being honest, but we chose to just let her be.

"Sorry, Mal! I guess that talk will have to wait!" Freddie called out for Amy as she was hauled down the hallway by her best friend. "Can you lock the door on your way out?"

Mal and I shrugged at each other and decided that we should meet up with the others as well. We may as well help them to finish decorating for the party. Since Mal was partnered with Freddie, she was given a spare key to their room, so she locked the door behind us. We strolled down to the ballroom to help with party planning. I was hoping that this party would go off without a hitch.

* * *

 **Thank you all for reading, following, favoriting, and reviewing! A special thanks to pinksakura271 for leting me use her OC Amy.**


	8. Lori

Descendants Fan Fiction – Mal's Haunted Past

Lori P.O.V.

I had been walking for a few minutes before I decided to slow down. My sides had begun to ache. I knew that no one was following me. No one cared that much. The only ones who seemed to care about me were Mal and Evie, and I barely knew them. You know you have a problem when strangers care more about you then your own boyfriend. I was so lost in my thoughts that I nearly walked past Fairy Godmother's office. I stood in front of a large oak door. I knocked a few times. I was extremely nervous. This reminded me of some situations that I had been in before. They didn't end well. I hoped that this one would be different. From what I saw earlier, Fairy Godmother looked like a nice person, and I was hoping that it wasn't all just an act.

"Come on in!" A voice called from the other side of the door. I slowly opened the door and stepped into her office. She looked up at me and offered a warm smile. "Hello, dear. How may I help you?"

"Well, King Benjamin said that I should come talk to you about my room," I stated as I closed the door behind me.

"Of course," She started searching through a filing cabinet as I stood awkwardly by the door. She stopped what she was doing and looked at me. "Don't be shy, child. Go ahead and take a seat." She gestured towards the seats that were in front of desk. I walked over and sat down. Once she was satisfied, she resumed her search. "You are Lori, right? Daughter of Loki?"

"That's right," I responded as I watched her. After a few more minutes of looking, she seemed to have stumbled upon something that she was happy with.

"I think I have the perfect room for you!" Fairy Godmother squealed with delight as someone knocked on her door. "Come in!" King Benjamin entered the office, closed the door behind him, and took a seat next to me.

"King Benjamin," I greeted as I bowed my head.

"Please, Ben is fine with me. We're friends now," He insisted as I nodded. To me, it was odd to address a king that way. That wasn't how I was raised, but it's what he wanted. "So how's it going?"

"I was just telling Lori that I found the perfect roommate for her," Fairy Godmother recapped as she placed the file in front of me. I carefully picked it up and opened it. I was shocked to see who she had chosen.

"You're kidding, right?" I asked as I placed the file back down on the desk.

"No. Why would I be joking?" She seemed to be serious. Ben picked up the folder and looked at it himself. He chuckled quietly to himself.

"You chose Thea to be her roommate. As in Thor and Jane's daughter?" Ben questioned as he continued to read the file. I'm glad that I wasn't the only one who thought that this was crazy.

"It's perfect!" Fairy Godmother urged. "You two are cousins and should get to know each other. Plus, she doesn't have a roommate yet." Fairy Godmother's eyes were pleading.

"Okay. I'll be her roommate," I sighed. There was no getting around this. Maybe we could actually be friends. After all, Thor did care for my father and me. I knew that my father also had a special place for Thor in his heart, even it was the tiniest of places.

"Fantastic!" Fairy Godmother clapped her hands together in triumph. "I'll let the guards know where to take your bags." She dug around her desk and pulled out two keys. "Here is your room key. The second one is for Evie." I took the keys gratefully.

"Thank you, for everything." I stood to leave. Ben stood as well.

"It was really no problem, child," Fairy Godmother said. "Come back if you need anything else." She returned to the paper that she had been reading earlier.

"I'll walk you to your room," He offered.

"That is really unnecessary," I replied as I walked to the door. He placed his hand on the door knob and opened it for me.

"I insist." He wasn't going to take no for an answer, so I just followed him out of the office and down the hall.

We walked in silence for a few minutes until we reached the base of the stairs.

"Can I ask you something?" Ben asked, breaking the silence.

"Go ahead," I allowed, but I knew that he was going to ask me about Scott. We had problems, anyone could see that.

"How do you like Auradon so far?" He questioned as we started to climb the stairs. I was surprised. That wasn't what I was expecting him to ask me.

"It's nice here. Much better than the Isle," I answered. That was the truth. I liked it here, and no matter what the others wanted, I wasn't going to help them release all of the people who wanted to destroy it.

"What was the Isle like? Mal and the others don't really talk about it," He seemed curious. It was a nice trait to have.

"Well, it's different for everyone. Some people have it made in the shade. They have castles or relatively nice houses, they get whatever they want, and they are feared by the majority of the Isle. Others live in shacks that are falling apart, or they live on the streets. They have to fight for themselves and for what they want, otherwise, they're doomed."

"I'm sorry to hear that," He seemed genuinely concerned for a group of people that he didn't even know. "What was it like for you?" I thought about how to answer that question as we reached the top of the stairs.

"I had a roof over my head. I had a friend who looked out for me. I had it better than most," I replied. I didn't feel like giving out any real details, but Ben seemed satisfied with what he got.

"That friend was Scott?" There it was. I knew that he was going to ask me about Scott.

"Yeah, he was," I said as we walked slowly through the halls. "He and Amy found me on the streets when I was about 4 or 5. I had been dumped there by a couple of guards after my father was imprisoned. My uncle, Thor, tried to get permission for me to stay with him and his family, but no one on the royal council was okay with that. After all, I was the daughter of a villain. Scott took me back to his place and allowed me to stay there. I guess Amy didn't like me very much, because she stopped visiting. If it wasn't for them, I would probably have died that year. About a year ago, Scot and I started dating. I don't know what happened between yesterday and today, but now, it's like he can't stand me. We don't see eye to eye anymore." A few tears gathered in my eyes. I tried my best to stop them from falling, but it didn't work. A stray tear fell down my cheek. I wiped it away as quickly as possible and hoped that Ben hadn't noticed. But, he did.

"I'm sorry," He said quietly as we stopped in front of my dorm room. "If you ever need anything, anything at all, just let me know." I nodded as I unlocked the door. Mal and Evie had just entered the hallway and started to walk towards us.

"Hey guys," Evie greeted.

"Hi, Evie. Hi, Mal," I smiled at the pair. "Oh, Fairy Godmother wanted me to give this to you, Evie." I handed her the key.

Evie took the key from me with a smile on her face. "Amy and Freddie said something about going to see the boys."

"Thanks for letting me know, but I think I just need a little rest," I stated as I entered the room.

"That's alright. Get all of the rest that you need," Mal said as she looped her arms through Ben's. "If you need to talk or anything else, we'll all be downstairs in the ballroom." I nodded my understanding.

"Oh, before I forget, there is going to be a party in a couple hours. It's kind of formal, so like dresses and things. If you're up to it, it'll be in the ballroom. There should be a map in your room somewhere. You can also ask Thea when you see her," Ben explained.

"Thanks. I'll try to make it." I smiled at them once more before disappearing into my room. I knew that the others wouldn't be too pleased about what I had told Ben, but trying to keep them all happy was tiring. I walked over to the empty bed. As my head hit the pillow, I fell into a deep sleep. All of my worries melted away.

* * *

 **Two chapters in one day?! I really wanted to continue this story. I'm really getting into it. Thanks to those who followed, favorited, or reviewed. Thanks for just reading. A special thanks to pinksakura271 for letting me use her OC Amy.**


	9. Meeting?

Descendants Fan Fiction – Mal's Haunted Past

Amy P.O.V.

I was sitting in the boys' dorm, which was much bigger than ours, with Freddie, Scotty, and both Gastons. Apparently, Fairy Godmother had enchanted it so the three boys could stay together. I don't know why she couldn't do that for us girls. We were waiting for Lori to show up. I wasn't surprised that she had flaked out on us.

"I thought you wanted Mal to apologize to you," Freddie stated as she recalled the events that had happened earlier. Mal had wanted to talk to me, probably to apologize, but I left before she had the chance and I pulled Freddie with me.

"I do want her to apologize, but I can't make it easy for her," I explained as Freddie nodded.

"So when will you let her apologize?" Freddie asked. I thought about that for a minute.

"I don't know."

Freddie checked her watch and sighed. "We can't wait forever," Freddie grumbled impatiently as she changed the subject from Mal to Lori. I felt the exact same way.

"Maybe I should go check on her and make sure she's okay," Scotty offered as he stood up.

"Why do we need her anyway? She's no fun!" Gaston III complained as he laid on his bed.

"Yeah, let's just start without her," Gaston Jr. suggested as he joined me, Freddie, and Scotty at the table that was in the center of the room.

"You guys can start, but I'm going to make sure that she is okay," Scotty stated as he headed for the door.

"I'll go with you," I volunteered as I stood and walked over to him. He raised his eyebrows at me in a questioningly kind of way. "I don't want you to get lost." I also wanted to find out more about his relationship with Lori, but I wasn't going to tell him that.

"Alright, let's go."

"What are we supposed to do while you're gone?" Gaston III asked as he moved into a sitting position. I thought about it.

"Why don't we part ways and then meet back here in twenty minutes?" I proposed as everyone agreed. Scotty and I left his room and headed for the girls' dormitories. I took this opportunity to ask him some questions. "I thought you and Lori weren't are speaking terms."

"We aren't, but she is still a good friend of mine," He responded as we walked through the halls.

"I know I already asked you this, but why do you like her so much? She doesn't seem like your type." Scotty laughed.

"Oh yeah? What is my type?" He asked.

"I don't know. Someone who is fun and likes to break the rules every now and then," I stated. "Lori seems boring." I guess opposites really do attract.

"Well, she wasn't always like that," Scotty said, his tone was serious. "She used to be fun and mischievous. In fact, she was a lot like her father in that way. She liked to pull pranks and play jokes on random people. She was recklessly spontaneous. About a month after we started dating, that disappeared. It's like she became a completely different person. I have no idea why." I took a moment to process this information. Lori was fun? Huh, I couldn't believe it.

"Why did you ask Lori out?" I inquired. "I mean I know you care about her a lot, but what made you want to ask her to be your girlfriend?"

"I don't know exactly. I guess it was just a feeling. Every time I saw her I felt happy."

"Do you still feel that way about her?"

But, Scotty didn't answer. He stopped walking and looked around. We were at an intersection of two hallways.

"Amy, do you know where Lori's room is?" He asked me as I stopped as well. It had just occurred to me that I had no idea where she was.

"Scotty, my feline friend, you don't know?" I asked as Scotty shook his head.

"I actually don't know," He responded quietly.

"How are we going to find her? This place is huge!" We stood in the hallway for a few minutes as we tried to come up with a way to find out what room Lori was in.

"Maybe just knock on some doors until we find her?" He suggested.

Before I had a chance to respond, we saw Ben walking towards us.

"Hey guys!" He called out. "I'm glad I ran into you two. I was actually just looking for you guys."

"You were?" Scotty questioned. "Why is that?"

"Well, we're having a party in your honor in an hour or two. So, I wanted to make sure that the guests of honor actually knew about the party," Ben informed. "What are you guys doing here anyway?"

"We were just looking for Lori," Scotty explained. "Do you know what room she's in?"

"Yeah, I do," Ben said hesitantly. After a second, he sighed. "She's in room 42. It's that way." He pointed down the hallway to our right.

"Great, thanks." I said as Scotty and I started to head in the right direction.

"Can you tell the others about the party?" Ben called out.

"Yeah, sure. No problem," Scotty replied over his shoulder, not even bothering to look back. After a few minutes of searching, we came across Lori's room. Scotty knocked a couple of times before anyone actually opened the door.

"Sorry! I'm coming!" We heard someone quietly yelling from the other side of the door. It didn't sound like Lori. We shared a confused look. The door swung open a crack and a head popped out. It was the head of a girl with straight, dirty blonde hair that was a little bit longer than shoulder length and brown eyes. She was basically the opposite of Lori, but just as stunning. "Can I help you with something?"

"Um, yeah. We're looking for Lori. Is she here?" Scotty inquired as the blonde seemed to be studying us.

"Yes, she is. Who wants to know?" This new girl seemed very protective of Lori.

"I'm Amy and this is Scott," I responded. I could tell that Scotty was getting a little impatient. When he became impatient, he tended to lose his temper. That was something he and Lori had in common, a big temper. I quickly grabbed his hand in an attempt to calm him down. I think it worked, but I wasn't sure.

"You two are from the Isle?" She asked as she looked at us from head to toe, but she focused more on our now entwined hands. We nodded. "Alright. I'll go get her." With that, the door closed. After a minute or two, we heard a scream. It was followed by a quiet conversation and a little bit of laughter. The scream definitely sounded like Lori. I didn't like or trust her very much, but I still hoped she was alright. Scotty became even more impatient and it looked like he was about ready to kick the door down. I quickly gave his hand a small squeeze before releasing it. I'm sure he would have actually broken down the door if Lori hadn't opened the door just then. I was hoping that I was also a factor in him becoming calm.

"Are you alright?" He asked quickly.

"Yes, I'm fine. Thanks for asking," She kept her eyes on the floor. She looked tired. "Is there something that I can help you with?"

"We had all planned to meet at the boys' dorm and you didn't show up. Scotty was worried about you, so here we are," I explained the situation as Lori looked at Scotty for the first time during this conversation.

"You were… worried about me?" She asked as if she couldn't believe it. I don't know why. It was exactly like Scotty to be worried about someone that he cared for. She should know that by now. He simply nodded.

She checked the hallway to make sure that no one was walking by. She also checked on the blonde before saying anything. "Look, I know you plan on stealing the wand and all, but I don't want any part of that," She said in a hushed voice. "I like it here. Do what you want, but just know that I won't help you with any of it."

Scott looked as though he were about to argue with her, but I decided to say something. "Lori, I don't want to steal the wand either," I confessed. Scotty looked at me in surprise, but Lori didn't look surprised at all. "I couldn't care less about that stupid wand. But, I do want to get back at Mal for abandoning me on the Isle. Will you at least help with that?" Lori looked at me with a blank expression for a minute. I guess she was thinking about it. I didn't ask her because I actually want her help. Like I said before, I don't like or trust her. The only reason I asked was because Scotty likes her. Plus, you know what they say: 'Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.'

"I'll help you. I know what's it's like to be abandoned," She said that last sentence so quietly, I almost didn't hear it.

"What do you mean?" Scotty questioned. I wanted to know as well, but she didn't answer.

"Is everything okay, Lori?" I could tell that it was the blonde who had spoken from inside the room.

"Yeah, Thea. Everything is fine," Lori answered.

"Thea?" Scotty asked curiously. Lori put up a finger to signal us to wait for a minute. She disappeared into her room. When she returned a second later, she was with the blonde, who I am assuming is Thea.

"This is Thea. She's my cousin," Lori introduced.

"Cousin?" Scotty and I asked in unison. Lori had a cousin that lived in Auradon? Since when?

"Yeah. My dad, Thor, and Lori's dad, Loki, are brothers. That makes us…" Thea gave an explanation for their situation. Maybe that's why they were both so pretty, they were basically goddesses.

"Cousins," They said together as they smiled at each other. I guess Lori had already made here first friend in Auradon. Thea placed her arm around Lori's shoulders.

"Did Ben tell you about the party tonight?" Lori quizzed.

"Yeah, he did," Scott said as Lori looked at him expectantly. I guess she was waiting for him to ask her to the dance. After a minute of silence, her eyes fell to the floor. She must be really upset. I wanted to smile, but that would have seemed rude.

"If you don't mind, Lori and I have to get ready for the dance," Thea came to Lori's rescue as she started to pull Lori back inside the room.

"We can talk about this later, okay?" Lori quietly recommended.

"Okay. See you later," Scott replied as Lori vanished from our sight.

"Bye!" She called out as the door closed.

"Let's head back and tell the others what's going on," I stated as we made our way back to Scotty's dorm room. I held his hand once more. He didn't need to be calmed down, but he didn't object to it.

By the time we arrived, Freddie, Gaston Jr., and Gaston III were already there.

"So, where is she?" Freddie asked as we walked through the door without Lori.

"She doesn't want to help us steal the wand," Scotty explained as he took a seat at the table.

"I told you guys she was no fun," Gaston III complained once more.

"We can do this without her. It'll be a piece of cake," Scotty reassured as I took a seat in between him and Freddie. He didn't mention the fact that I didn't want to help with that either.

"Oh, by the way, the kids of Auradon are throwing a little formal party thing for us," I added. "It's in a couple of hours." A mischievous grin crept onto Freddie's lips.

"A party for us, and all of those prissy royals will be there?" I nodded in confirmation "Anyone in the mood for a little trouble?" Freddie asked as we all started grinning. I didn't know what Freddie had in mind, but it sounded like fun. I saw this as a chance to cause some problems for Audrey.

* * *

 **Thanks to everyone who followed, favorited, or reviewed the story. Thanks for just reading. A special thanks to pinksakura271 for allowing me to use her OC Amy and for giving me tons of great suggestions.**


	10. The Party

Descendants Fan Fiction – Mal's Haunted Past

 **A/N: This chapter is going to be a lot longer than usual. I hope you like it.**

* * *

Lori P.O.V.

I sat on my bed, a little disappointed.

"Lori is something wrong?" Thea asked. I looked up at her. She was super pretty. She was wearing a gray, off the shoulder, shirt with a pattern of circles in a darker gray, a bright red flowy skirt, black combat boots, and a silver mini hammer pendant.

"Yes there is something wrong," I confessed. "I don't know what's going on between me and Scott anymore."

"Scott? As in the boy who was just at our door?" Thea inquired as she joined me on my bed. I nodded. "Well, tell me about your relationship."

"We were good friends, and then about a year ago, he asked me out. It's been alright, but now we're in this fight. I don't even know what we're fighting about anymore. It doesn't seem like he's even trying to fix things."

"Okay, can you think of something that might have started this?" She asked as I leaned back. I thought about everything that had happened recently. There was one event that stuck out to me.

"This morning, before we left the Isle, I was trying to convince Scott that we could start over here. I may have mentioned something that he doesn't like to hear. That I promised that I would never bring up. He stormed off and we've been fighting ever since," I explained as I let out a long, frustrated sigh. "Everything I say or do seems to drive him farther away."

"I see," Thea stated as she stood up. "You need to block him out of your mind. At least for tonight." I gave her a questioning look. "Tonight is about having fun and celebrating your arrival here in Auradon. Let's not let a little boy drama ruin that." She extended a hand to help me off of the bed. "Plus, I have a surprise for you!"

"I hate surprises," I shivered at the memory of the last surprise that I had received.

"I promise that you will love this one," Thea had a huge grin on her face as she pushed me into the closet.

* * *

Mal P.O.V.

"Evie, this dress is absolutely perfect!" I complimented as I looked at my reflection in the mirror. It was a dark plum color. The bodice had a halter neckline and just the right amount of sparkle. The straps were tied around my neck to form a little bow. The skirt was made of multiple layers of tulle. When I twirled, the tulle seemed as though it were dancing. I had a pair of black strappy heels to complete the look.

"I know! It's so you!" She squealed in delight as she joined me at the mirror. She was wearing a strapless ball gown. The bodice had a plunging neckline and was covered in silver glitter. Once it reached the waist line, it started to fade, until all that was left was the royal blue skirt. She had on a pair of silver pumps and a silver headband that resembled a crown.

"Your dress looks gorgeous as well, E. I think Doug is going to love it," I added as she blushed slightly.

"You don't think it's too revealing do you?" There was concern laced in her voice. I immediately knew what she was talking about. She was referring to the Gaston twins.

"Don't worry about them," I reassured her. "As long as the boys are there, they can't lay a hand on us." I don't know who I was trying to convince more, her or myself. We exchanged worried looks.

"I just hope they don't cause any problems. For us or anyone else," Evie backed away from the mirror and flopped onto her bed. I looked at my reflection once more before joining her.

"That's all we can do right now, E," I placed a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. "All we can do is hope." Evie wrapped me in a hug that seemed to last forever. I wish it did. I was dreading going to this party. Probably more than she was. "So, isn't this like your first official date with Doug?" I tried to change the subject in order to get both of our minds off of the Legume twins. As Evie pulled out of the hug, I could see that she was blushing.

"Yeah, I guess so," She quietly stated. Then, her head snapped up. She grabbed my right hand and inspected it. "Mal! Where's your ring?!" She was freaking out.

"Do you mean Ben's signet ring?"

She nodded her head in response. Her eyes were large and wild.

"Please don't tell me that you lost it!" She cried out while I laughed.

"Chill, E," I instructed as I got up and off of the bed. I walked over to my nightstand and pulled a royal blue velvet box from the drawer. I opened it to reveal the golden beast head. Evie sighed in relief. "I put it away for safe keeping." I slipped the ring onto my finger as someone knocked on the door.

"It's open!" Evie called as she got off of the bed. She smoothed out all the wrinkles from her dress while I put the little box back into the drawer. The door opened to reveal Ben and Doug. Ben was a royal blue tux, a white dress shirt, and a golden tie. Doug was wearing a dark green tux, a white dress shirt, and a lavender colored tie.

"Hey, beautiful," Ben greeted as he walked over to me. "Another wonderful creation from Evie, I presume." Ben stated as he looked at my dress. Evie and I both nodded.

"Makeup done by Evie as well," I announced as I twirled so Ben could see the whole dress.

"Well, Evie, you did an amazing job with this one," Ben complimented as a small blush creeped onto my cheeks.

"I know! I'm so proud!" Evie squealed as Doug, Ben, and I started laughing.

"Ready to go?" Ben asked the group. I nodded and took his extended hand.

"You guys go ahead," Evie said. "I have a few things that I need to do."

Ben turned to Doug for his response. "I'll just wait here with Evie. If that is all right with you."

Ben and I shared a small chuckle and a knowing look before heading out of the dorm.

"I see you're still wearing my ring," Ben observed as we slowly walked down the hall.

"Of course I am. Evie would have killed me if I left without it," I joked as Ben smiled at me. Well, it wasn't untrue. From the way she had flipped out earlier, I think she would have definitely killed me if I hadn't put it on.

* * *

Amy P.O.V.

Freddie and I were heading to the boys' dorm. That was where we decided that we should meet from now on. Mainly because it was bigger. We were both already dressed and ready for the party.

"Oh my pink, Freddie! You look purr-fect!" What can I say? I like cats and cat puns. Freddie was wearing an orange, knee-length skirt, purple shirt, a lime jacket with puffy sleeves, a matching green belt, and an orange hat with a green feather. Her long black hair was put into two pony tails.

"You don't look too bad yourself," She complimented as we knocked on the boys' door. Scotty was the one who answered the door. He was wearing a brown tux with a green tie that matched his eyes.

"You look beautiful, Amy," He admired as he let us in. I was wearing a pink floor length dress with a sweetheart neckline. The straps wrapped around my shoulders. I had a pink rose necklace and two-inch dark pink strappy heels. My pink, waist-length, hair was in curls and held back by my purple rose headband. I would never admit this to anyone, but Mal was still important to me. "You look great too, Freddie."

"Gee, thanks, Scott. How nice of you," Freddie said.

"Thanks, Scotty." I scratched the place behind his ears that he liked so much. He let out a little purr. I walked in to find that the Gaston twins were arm wrestling. They were wearing thing, as usual. They were wearing brown pants, a red vest, a white shirt, a red coat with gold trim, and black boots.

"So we all know the plan for tonight?" Scott questioned as he put on his black shoes. Everyone nodded. "Great. Let's go."

Gaston Jr. jumped up. "Yes! I win!"

"Yeah. That's because I let you win," Gaston III grumbled.

"Whatever you say, bro." Gaston Jr. playfully shoved his brother as he made his way to the door. Tonight was going to be a good night. I could already tell.

* * *

Evie P.O.V.

I was seated on the outskirts of the ballroom. Doug and I had made our way down to the party a few minutes after Mal and Ben had left. I wanted to be fashionably late. By the time we arrived at the party, almost everyone was there. The only people that I could were missing were Lori and Thea. I was slightly annoyed that I had gotten there before them, but I tried to not focus on that. The party itself looked really good. All of the planning and effort that everyone had put into it really paid off.

There was a DJ set up on the stage. Behind that was a giant welcome banner that Mal had magically summoned. Blue and gold streamers had been tied to the chandelier that hung in center of the room, and extended out to every wall. There were balloons in every corner. Mal had even snuck in some of her signature Long Live Evil posters that were inspired by the new arrivals. One for Scar, one for Loki, one for Gaston, one for Dr. Facilier, and of course, one for Maleficent. I think Mal thoroughly enjoyed making them. No one has objected to them, yet. We'll see the night is still young.

"Hey, E. What are you doing?" Mal asked as she came and sat next to me.

"I'm just admiring our handy work," I replied as I looked at her. She had a big smile on her face.

"So. What did Doug think of your dress?" She questioned as I blushed a little bit.

"He may or may not have said that I was the prettiest girl that he had ever seen," I tried to make it seem like it was no big deal, but the excitement in my voice was obvious. Mal laughed.

"Come on, E. Let's go dance," My purple haired fairy friend stated as she dragged me towards the dance floor. Most of friends were already there. They all looked like they were having a spectacular time. I sure was. For a couple reasons. First of all, I was at a party with my best friends. Second of all, the Legume twins hadn't bothered us yet. I actually haven't seen them in a while. I'm not going to lie, that worried me more than anything.

"Hey, M. Have you seen the twins?" I inquired as I stopped dancing.

She stopped dancing as she thought about it. "No, I haven't. They're around here somewhere. Freddie told me that everyone except for Lori had arrived. Why do you ask?"

"I'm just worried. That's all," I answered as I looked around the ballroom for them.

"E, you need to chill out. Okay?" She held my hands to get my attention. "Just forget about them for now. We deserve to have fun." I nodded as I tried to push the twins out of my mind. I heard a few gasps coming from the door to the ballroom. I quickly forgot about both of the Gastons as I made my way towards the door, pulling Mal behind me.

* * *

Lori P.O.V.

"I'm not so sure about this, Thea," I voiced my doubts as we reached the door to the ballroom. I could hear the music and the laughter through the door.

"Trust me, Lori. Everything is going to be alright."

"If you say so," I sighed as she pushed open the doors and we stepped into the large room. It was a lot bigger than I initially thought it would be. I heard many gasps as we walked in. "They're all staring at us."

"Yes they are!" Thea exclaimed. She had a triumphant smile on her face as she guided me to the edge of the room. "It probably has something to do with that gorgeous dress that I got for you!" I looked down at what I was wearing. She was right, the dress was beautiful. It was an emerald green, strapless, floor-length dress. There was a think gold trim at the top and at the waist. The dress was accompanied by a pair of gold lace-up heels and a gold leather jack that cut off at the chest. My wavy black hair was now in curls.

"You look magnificent as well," I complimented. She was wearing a red floor-length, taffeta mermaid dress. It was strapless with a sweetheart neckline and ruffle beading. She was also wearing platform silver heels. Her blonde hair was tied up in a low bun.

Thea was about to respond when Evie came rushing towards us. Mal wasn't too far behind her.

"You guys look amazing!" Evie cooed as Mal struggled to remove Evie's hand from her wrist. "So that's why you asked me to make those dresses for you?" Thea nodded. Evie made these dresses?

"They are really beautiful, Evie. Thanks," I told her as her smile grew.

"Well, they look even better on you," She commented as Mal finally freed herself from Evie's grip. She looked up to see what all the fuss was about.

"Wow. You girls look brilliant," She observed as Ben and Doug made their way over. Ben wrapped his arm around Mal and kissed her lightly on the forehead.

"That was some entrance," Ben spoke. "I'm glad you could make it. I hope you enjoy the party." He took Mal by the hand and led her to the dance floor. After saying his own welcome, Doug and Evie left to join their friends.

"How about a quick snack? I'm starving!" Thea begged as we laughed. We strolled over to the snack tables. That also happened to be where Scott, Amy, Freddie, Gaston Jr., and Gaston III were. Amy and Freddie were discussing something. By the looks of it, it was important to them. Probably a scheme to destroy the party. Gaston Jr. and Gaston III were stuffing their faces. What else is new? Scott was just looking out at the party. I waited patiently for Thea to get her food while I tried to avoid the others. I didn't want anybody to think that I was helping them ruin the party.

"I thought I would find you here," A tall brunette joked as he and his blond friend joined Thea and me.

"You know me. I love to eat," Thea giggled as she embraced the brunette boy. His blond friend glanced over at me and smiled warmly. "Oh! Boys, this is my cousin, Lori. Lori, this is my boyfriend Finn Rider. He's the son of Rapunzel and Flynn Rider, aka Eugene." She pointed to the blond boy next. "This is Christian, or Chris, Charming. The son of Queen Cinderella and King Kit. The brother of Chad Charming."

"Nice to meet you," Chris greeted as he extended his hand. I shook it.

"Any friend of Thea's is a friend of mine," Finn stated.

"We're going to go dance for a bit. Will you be okay here… with Chris?" Thea questioned as Chris gave her an annoyed look.

"I'll be fine," I reassured her before she disappeared into the crowd.

"So, Lori, since you are the cousin of Thea, I am assuming that your father is Loki," Chris stated as he surveyed the food that was laid out in front of him.

"That's correct." I looked over at him. His blue eyes met mine. His blond hair looked laid perfectly. A small piece dangled down in front of his face. It was cute. "So are you the older brother?"

"Yeah, I am, unfortunately," He sighed as I gave him a confused look. "Sometimes I wish I was an only child. Being Chad's brother can be… exhausting." He explained as the music changed from a pop song to a slow song. "How about a dance?"

"Oh no. I don't dance," I argued, but he had already grabbed my hand and was leading me to the dance floor. He continued to hold my hand and placed a hand on my waist. I placed my free hand on his shoulder.

"See, you can dance," He teased as we slowly danced in time to the music. I glanced over at the snack tables and saw Scott gazing in my direction, but I didn't see Amy, Freddie, Gaston Jr., or Gaston III. I could sense that chaos was about to ensue. I quickly looked away.

"I never said I couldn't dance. I merely said that I didn't," I corrected.

"Oh, is that so?" He said sarcastically. I was about to answer when I heard a scream. Chris and I stopped dancing immediately. I knew it. Chaos. Everyone stopped what they were doing to look in the direction of the scream. It was Audrey. Her hair was… on fire. Chris excused himself and ran over to his brother. I spotted Amy and Freddie not that far away. They were snickering as people tried to help Audrey. Someone even went as far as to dump the punch bowl on her. It didn't put out the fire, but it did leave her soaking wet. It must have been magic. It could only be put out by magic. I was about to head over to Amy and Freddie when something else caught my eye.

* * *

Mal P.O.V.

Ben had left a minute or two ago to assist someone with a problem. It was an issue for the king, or something like that. I didn't mind. I was used to it by now. I was about to head over to one of the tables to take a seat when someone grabbed my hand. I assumed it was Ben. He pulled me in closer and placed a firm hand on my waist and squeezing my hand.

"Ouch," I called out as he squeezed a little too hard.

"Sorry, Mal. I didn't mean to hurt you," The voice wasn't sincere and it _**definitely**_ wasn't Ben's. I knew that voice. I loathed that voice.

"Gaston Jr.," I grumbled as he laughed. I tried to squirm out of his grip, but he was too strong. "Let me go."

"Why would I do that when the fun is just starting?" He joked. I growled at him, which only made him laugh harder. Before I could respond, I heard a scream. It sounded like Audrey. I tried my best to see what was going on, but I could hardly see around Gaston Jr. When I was finally able to see what was going on, I was shocked. Audrey's hair was on fire. I knew exactly who had done it. It had to be Amy. That's why she was so interested in Audrey, because she's the daughter of Aurora, or Sleeping Beauty.

"Gaston, this isn't funny. Let me go!" I demanded as I struggled to relieve myself of his grip. It wasn't working. People were either trying to help Audrey, paralyzed with fear or shock, or still dancing because they didn't care. I wanted to be with my friends and help Audrey. Mainly because it would mean that I was nowhere near Gaston Jr. I was delighted, though to see that Evie was sill with Doug and that Gaston III was nowhere near her.

"What's the rush?" Gaston Jr. asked. I wasn't really sacred of him, I was just really annoyed. That is, until his hand started to venture below my waist.

"Gaston! I swear… Stop it!" I fought even harder to get away from him, but nothing was working. I searched the room frantically for anybody who could help me. Evie, Jay, Carlos, and the others were distracted by Audrey's problem. Ben was on the other side of the ballroom and he was still talking to the advisor. Someone finally caught my eye. It was Lori and she was looking right at me. Her normally sparkling blue eyes grew icy. If looks could kill, Gaston Jr. would be dead. She stormed over, and she was _**not**_ happy.

"Lori! So nice to see you again!" Gaston Jr. sneered as he let go of my hand and pulled her in as well. I had a feeling that he didn't mean again as in earlier today.

"Gaston! Let go of us!" She snarled. I had never seen her so mad before. She was so calm before. I couldn't believe how she could go from one to the other so quickly. "You'll regret it if you don't."

"I doubt it," Gaston waved off her threat as if it was no big deal. She grinned. It was a devilish smile. I guess in her mind, he chose the right answer. She took the hand that was on her waist and slowly but surely, pried it off.

"But… how?" I was astonished. I couldn't believe my eyes. One look at Gaston Jr., I could tell that he couldn't believe it either.

"I inherited all of my father's powers," She explained as she twisted his wrist. "Including super strength." He winced, but he tightened his grip on me.

"Gaston!" I tried to push him away, but I had no effect on him. Lori seemed busy with his other arm, so I decided to just jam my heel into his foot. It worked. Gaston Jr. yelped and pushed me away as he grabbed his foot in pain. He pushed me into Lori and we both fell to the floor. We had everybody's attention now. Well, everyone who wasn't busy with Audrey. Thankfully, Lori had broken my fall, but she hit her head pretty hard. Within seconds, Ben was by my side.

"Are you okay?" He asked as he helped me up. Evie, Jay, and Carlos also rushed over, but Audrey was still on fire, and still screaming. Even Thea came over.

"I'm fine," I relied as I helped Lori off of the floor. "Thanks for helping me." She rubbed the back of her head before giving Thea a hug.

"No problem. Us girls have to stick together, right?" I had a feeling that it wasn't the only reason for her wanting to help, but I brushed it off. She seemed a little distracted as well. "I have to go take care of something. Excuse me." She walked away. I was amazed at how calm she was, once again. I'm not going to lie, it was a little unnerving.

"Mal, I am so so sorry! Can you ever forgive me?" Evie begged as she wrapped me in a hug.

"Don't worry about it Evie. I'm fine," I stated.

"What exactly happened?" Ben asked as Thea looked to me for an explanation as well. I could tell they were both concerned, but I didn't feel like explaining the whole thing right now.

"I'll tell you later." Ben didn't object to that answer, and neither did Thea.

* * *

Scott P.O.V.

I hadn't seen the entire thing, but I did see the end. Mal had been pushed into Lori and they had both fallen to the ground. I knew that Gaston Jr. was the one who had pushed Mal after she stepped on his foot with her heel, but I didn't know why. Prince Ben and the others had rushed over to check on the girls, so I remained where I was. While they were talking, I looked around for Gaston Jr., but he seemed to have disappeared. I glanced around the ballroom for him, but I didn't see him. I looked back at the group just in time to see Lori walking away. Where was she going? I wanted to talk to her and ask her about this whole Gaston thing. I followed her out of the ballroom.

* * *

Amy P.O.V.

"Setting Audrey's hair on fire was brilliant!" Freddie admired as we laughed.

"I think we can do a little more damage than that," I commented as Freddie's smile turned into a mischievous one. "I know that look! You have an idea don't you?"

"I sure do." With a simple wave of her hand, Audrey's screams turned into croaks (like a frog). We laughed even harder. Audrey started crying and croaking. It was hilarious. No one else seemed o think so, though. People were fawning over her and trying to help her or they just hadn't noticed it. This made me angry. Why did people care so much? She really didn't deserve all of the attention. My eyes glowed a bright red as my anger increased. I got so angry that I started a rain storm without even meaning to. The wind started to pick up at the storm raged on. Things started to blow off of the tables. Posters stared falling off of the walls. I looked around and I was glad that Scotty wasn't around. He would not have enjoyed this. Audrey's fire had finally gone out, but she was still screaming. A lot of people were as they ran for the door. I guess they didn't like getting soaked. In my opinion, the night couldn't have gone better.

* * *

That was a really long chapter! It's like 4 times longer than I would normally make it, but whatevs. Sorry for all of the character switches. I hope it's not confusing.

Thanks a whole bunches to pinksakura271 for allowing me to use her OC Amy. Thanks to everyone who favorited, reveiwed, or followed the story. Thanks for just reading it.

Sorry, again, for updating so late. I meant to upload the chapter earlier today, but I was out with my mom and sister all day, shopping for father's day.

I hope you enjoy and have a rainbowriffic day!


	11. A Secret Revealed

Scott P.O.V.

I had snuck out of the ballroom after Lori. Not that anyone noticed that I was gone. I wanted to ask her about the Gaston thing that had just happened. I had turned the corner just in time to see Gaston Jr. shoving Lori against the wall. I let out a low growl. Lori and I may not be on speaking terms, but she was still my girlfriend, and I still cared about her. I stayed hidden, just to see what would happen. I could just about hear what they were saying.

* * *

Lori P.O.V.

"Gaston Jr. you annoying little…" I spat as Gaston Jr. played with a small strand of my hair.

"Now, now. There's no need for name calling," Gaston Jr. interrupted in a low voice. He had me pinned against the wall. His forearm was on my chest and his knee kept my legs in place. He was too close for my comfort.

"Get off of me," I commanded, but he only laughed. "We're not on the Isle anymore."

"Oh, come on. That doesn't matter. Besides, you know you like it," Gaston Jr. teased as he leaned in closer. I turned my head to the side to try and avoid whatever was coming next. With his free hand, he turned my head so I was facing him once again.

"If you ever listened to anyone other than yourself, maybe you would know that you're wrong," I growled. I knew it was pointless to argue with either one of the Legume twins. It was like talking to a tree. They were both extremely thick skulled.

He leaned in closer. "Oh come, on. How else would I be able to hear your moans?" He whispered in my ear. I wanted to punch him in his smug face. I balled my hands into fists. My anger was increasing.

"Well if you _had_ been listening, that wouldn't have happened, now would it?" I snarled. He simply laughed as if what I had said was funny. In his twisted mind, it probably was.

"You can't look me in the eyes and honestly tell me that you didn't enjoy it."

My eyes narrowed and became icy and piercing, like they had earlier. I looked directly into those blue eyes that would have made any girl on the Isle swoon. Every girl, but me, Mal, and Evie. Always wanting what he couldn't have. I guess I should have been flattered, but I wasn't. I was furious and annoyed.

"I hated every second of it." I drawled without hesitation, without blinking. It was the truth. I jerked my head out of his grasp. For the first, his smug smile faltered. It was only for a second, not even. It was probably less than a second, but I noticed.

I was extremely angry. If I was in a cartoon, then I would have steam coming out of my ears. I could feel my blood boil. I could also feel something else building up inside of me. Something foreign. _Magic._

"Don't lie to me now," Gaston Jr. cooed as he caressed my cheeked. I shuddered. "Did you even tell that mutt?" That pushed me over the edge. I knew that he was referring to Scott. He may not be talking to me at the moment, but I wasn't about to let someone speak about him like that.

"He is _not_ a mutt. _You_ are the mutt." Before Gaston Jr. had a chance to respond, I felt a wave of energy leaving my body. Gaston Jr. was thrown back. He hit the opposite before sliding to the ground. I quickly ran around the corner, running into Scott. My eyes grew wide.

"Scott," I whispered as I heard Gaston Jr. cursing under his breath. I looked around the corner, making sure that Gaston Jr. didn't see me. He was trying to get up. I quickly created an illusion of myself at the other end of the hallway. I don't know how I knew how to do that, but I did. I didn't question it. I just let it happen. Scott and I watched as Gaston Jr. ran towards the illusion. He ran right through it and skid into the wall, knocking himself out. I sighed with relief. I wouldn't have to deal with him for a little while.

"What the heck was that about, Lori?" Scott nearly yelled.

"That depends," I slowly answered as I looked over at him. "How much did you hear?"

"All of it." He crossed his arms. Anger and annoyance clear on his face.

I opened my mouth to respond when the doors to the ballroom burst open. Everyone was running out and screaming at the same time. Scott and I looked at the crowd, confused. They were all soaking wet. I gave him a questioning look. He only shrugged. He turned to face me as soon as the crowd died down.

"So, what was that about?" I dreaded having this conversation with him, but I knew that he wasn't going to let it go anytime soon. I looked down at the floor and closed my eyes.

"Well, one afternoon, while I was walking through the market, Gaston Jr. jumped out of a dark alley and grabbed me. He pinned me against the wall before I could do anything. Then he…" Scott held up a hand. He didn't want to hear anymore. He knew what I was going to say next. I kept my gaze on the floor, I didn't want to look at him right now.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He asked, his voice was low. I shrugged.

"I guess I was just too ashamed," It was a moment of weakness. Weakness wasn't exactly welcomed on the Isle. Scott took my hand in his out of sympathy. On the Isle, that would have made me scowl. Here, I didn't mind it. I glanced over his shoulder to see an angry Mal walking towards us. Ben, Evie, Jay, Carlos, Freddie, Amy, Gaston III, and Audrey were behind her. They were all soaking wet, but Audrey looked the worst of them all. Her eyes were red and puffy, her hair was crispy, and she was sniffling. They stopped in front of us. I could feel their gazes on us.

"We all need to talk," She stated. It sounded as though she were calm, but anyone would be able to see that she wasn't. "Where's Gaston Jr.?" Scott and I shared a look.

"Last time I saw him, he was heading that way," I gestured around the corner. Mal glanced down the hallway and growled. She waved her hand, her magic dragging him toward him towards us. That's one way to transport someone.

"We can talk about what happened to him later. First, we all need to head to Fairy Godmother's office," Mal said as she started to walk away. I thought it would be best to follow her. Mal was scary enough on the Isle when it was just her and her reputation. Now she had magic. Her threats would not only be worse, but she would be able to carry them out easily. I know she chose good and everything, but knowledge doesn't stop fear. Just because you know that something will never happen, doesn't mean that you don't fear it. And right now, I feared what would happen when we got to Fairy Godmother's office.

* * *

 **Hiya! Sorry for the long wait. I just didn't feeling like writing ANYTHING. When I was finally in the mood to write, I wanted to focus on my other stories, because one is very close to the end and the other... I just felt like working on. Anyway...**

 **Thank you to everyone who favorited or followed. Thanks for just reading. Special thanks to pinksakura271 for allowing me to use her OC Amy, and also for assisting me with some parts of the story. I hope you all enjoyed.**

 **P.S. Did everyone understand what was going on? If not, let me know and I tell you. Like earlier, when Mal was talking about what happened with her, Evie, and the twins, I just didn't really want to come out and say it.**

 **P.P.S. I know it's called Mal's Haunted Past, but I really wanted to get into Lori's past as well. (I'm really enjoying writing her and her backstory) Also, I don't really have a whole ending planned out yet. I only have part of it planned, so if you have any ideas that you would like to share, let me know.**


	12. Fairy Godmother's Office

***** WARNING: Mentions of rape. Like, the actual word is used and all that. I'll but the section in bold stars (**) if you want to skip it. It's not really bad, it's just the word, but yeah. *****

Evie P.O.V.

Silence. That's all there was as we walked to Fairy Godmother's office. The only sound that could be heard was the shuffling of feet and the sound of Gaston Jr.'s body being dragged across the floor. He still hadn't woken up yet. I turned to look at Lori. Her head was down and she seemed to be lost in thought. She and Scott were the only ones who knew what happened to Gaston. I wanted to know, so I decided to just ask Lori now. Plus, telling me alone would probably be better than having all eyes on her. I sometimes got a little flustered when talking in front of a crowd. It wasn't very often, but it happened. I am human after all.

"Lori?" I whispered quietly so I wouldn't attract the attention of the rest of the group. She lifted her head slightly to indicate that she was listening. I continued. "What exactly happened to Gaston Jr.?" Lori seemed to tense at the question, but I could tell that she was expecting it.

"He ran into a wall," She answered just as quietly as she glanced in my direction. I was shocked. Gaston Jr. ran into a wall? I knew he was dumb, but I didn't think that he was _that_ dumb. **(Just to clarify, if you have ran into a wall before, I'm not calling you dumb. I have ran into many walls myself.)**

"Why would he run into a wall?" I asked more to myself. Although, it came out a little louder than I would have liked. No one seemed to hear me except for Amy. Even if she was closer to the front of the group, she had super sensitive fairy hearing. At least, I assume she did. Besides, I didn't think that Lori would know what was going on inside of Gaston's brain. But, if I had to take a guess… not much.

"I may or may not have used magic to create an illusion of myself at the end of the hall. When he ran towards it, he didn't stop and collided with the wall," She whispered. It was a peg lower in volume than her last response. I was surprised. Mainly by the fact that Lori was already starting to use magic. Yes, Mal and I had already started to use magic as well, but it was just a couple little spells here and there. I knew she was the daughter of Loki and all that, but how could she possibly be able to use magic so well already?

"Why would you do that?" I questioned instead.

She continued to stare at the ground. "He had shoved me against a wall and when I pushed him away, he got angry."

I was confused. If it were Mal, I would have understood why. Especially because he tried to do the same thing during the party. I had thought that the only reason that he had roped Lori in during that dance was because she was getting in his way. "Why would he shove you against a wall?"

"Let's just say that he thought he had the right to force me to do something just because he had done so in the past," Her answer was barely audible. I thought that I had heard her wrong. I couldn't help the small gasp that escaped from my lips.

"Oh, Lori. I am so sorry." I knew it wouldn't help anything. Her situation was similar to mine and Mal's. The only difference: Gaston Jr. got what he wanted.

I took Lori's hand in mine. She flinched a little at the sudden contact, but she didn't pull away. I took that as a good sign.

Mal P.O.V.

Walking to Fairy Godmother's office was a little awkward. I'm not going to lie. I was trying to stop doing that. Amy walked next to me. Ben was in front of us, and Audrey was by his side. Carlos and Jay were walking on either side of Gaston III. Scott and Freddie were behind them. Evie and Lori were all the way in the back. Gaston Jr. was being dragged by my magic behind them. No one had said anything once we had started walking. Usually I welcomed silence, but now, it was just annoying. I could hear Evie and Lori whispering in the back. I could have listened in if I really wanted to, but I decided against it. Instead, I turned to Amy. She had a blank expression on her face. I just couldn't imagine why she would have done what she did.

"So why did you do it?" I asked her. I kept my voice low. I didn't wat Ben or Audrey to hear.

"Do what?" Amy asked, trying to act innocent.

"It's pointless, Amy. You may be able to fool the others, but you know that you can't fool me. I'm your sister."

"Well you haven't been acting like one," Amy growled under her breath. I knew she was right. I felt badly.

"Look, Amy. I know that you're upset with me. Anyone can see that. I know what I did was wrong. I shouldn't have just left you like that. I am truly sorry," I figured that now was a good a time as any to apologize. Seeing as she couldn't exactly come up with an excuse and storm off like she had earlier.

Amy didn't respond. She kept her gaze on the floor as we walked. I knew that she wasn't going to accept my apology. Not now. After all, she couldn't make it easy for me, now could she? Hopefully she would in the near future because not being able to talk to my twin sister was killing me. I glanced back to see how everyone else was doing. I saw Evie and Lori holding hands. I smiled. I was glad that Evie was trying to befriend Lori. I was about to say something else to Amy when Ben and Audrey stopped walking.

"We're here," He announced simply as he knocked on the door. I heard Fairy Godmother's kind voice saying that the door was open. Ben opened the door and everyone entered.

"Oh dear. What happened to all of you?" Fairy Godmother questioned. Her usually calm voice was lace with concern. No one made an effort to answer. Audrey opened her mouth to speak, but all that came out was a croak. I saw Amy and Freddie try to stifle their laughter. Evie and Lori's eyes widened. Audrey looked as though she were about to start crying again. "Oh, Audrey. We need to get you fixed up. Why don't you head down to the nurse? I'll be their shortly." Audrey only nodded as she exited the room and headed towards the nurses office. "So, who wants to tell me what happened?" Fairy Godmother's voice was stern. She turned towards Ben expecting an answer.

"I actually don't really know what happened, Fairy Godmother. I had to attend to an official matter," He explained, apologetic. Fairy Godmother nodded her understanding before turning to the next person. Me. I internally groaned. I really didn't want to do this. If I told her what happened, I would be throwing Amy and Freddie under the bus. That wouldn't help our relationship at all.

I decided to not give away specifics. "Well, Audrey hair caught on fire, her words turned into croaks, and then there was a huge rainstorm inside of the ballroom." I made to no to look in Amy or Freddie's direction. I made sure to keep my eyes on the floor or on Fairy Godmother. She frowned slightly.

"That's all you know?" She asked, her tone disbelieving. I nodded.

"I was a little… preoccupied. I didn't really see what was going on."

"Preoccupied doing what?" Fairy Godmother inquired.

"She was busy swooning over Gaston Jr.," Freddie joked as she fanned herself exaggeratedly. I rolled my eyes. Ben seemed to tense. He didn't really think that's what happened, did he?

Lori and Evie scoffed. "That's one of the biggest lies I have ever heard," Evie stated as Fairy Godmother looked at her, expecting her to elaborate. She glanced in my direction. Silently asking how much information she could actually divulge. I shrugged. It was her decision. She sighed. "After Ben left, Gaston Jr. roped Mal into a dance. She tried to get away and Lori was trying to help her. Then he pushed Mal back into Lori, and they both fell." I was glad that she decided not to reveal the history behind the 'attack'. Ben held my hand in what I think was an apologetic way. I glanced over in his direction. He looked concerned and a little bit confused.

"Okay, we'll get to that in a minute. Who attacked Audrey?" Fairy Godmother asked once more. I looked back over to the two best friends just in time to see Amy glancing over in Scott's direction. I tilted my head to the side, slightly. Intent on knowing more about this.

"I did," Freddie finally spoke up.

"Uh-huh. And why did you do it?" Fairy Godmother questioned.

Freddie shrugged. "She had it coming," She muttered under her breath. I was glad that Audrey wasn't here for that.

"Okay, since that is settled, back to this Gaston issue. Where is he?"

Evie and Lori stepped out of the way to reveal an unconscious Gaston behind them. Fairy Godmother inhaled sharply. Before she could ask, Freddie took one step forward.

"Lori," She mentioned the name casually as everyone turned to face the teen in question. She paled slightly and Evie frowned.

"Lori, you did this to Gaston Jr.?" Fairy Godmother asked almost in disbelief as Lori nodded. "Why?" Lori wrung her hands, obviously dreading the question.

Gaston III, who had been surprisingly quiet, scoffed. "Does their need to be a reason for her to hurt my brother? She's just as crazy as her father! We're lucky he's not dead!" Evie growled.

"If you don't tell them, then I will," She said to Lori. I smiled once more. It was just like Evie to be the sister that you never had. Lori, reluctantly, gestured for Evie to explain.

"It was his fault," Evie stated flatly. Fairy Godmother gave her a questioning look, silently asking her to continue. "They had a past… relationship, after we left." She looked pointedly at me. My eyes widened as I understood what she meant. "He thought he could take advantage of that. Her actions were purely self-defense. Besides, she didn't even lay a hand on him! It's not her fault that he ran into a wall!" Once Evie finished I released Ben's hand and walked straight over to Lori. I wrapped her in a hug and whispered an apology that only she could hear. Carlos and Jay seemed to understand what Evie had meant and they sent their own apologetic looks in her direction. On my way back over to Ben, I couldn't help but notice how Amy glanced back over in Scott's direction. I internally squealed. I think my little sister has a crush on a certain feline friend of hers. She always did like cats.

"What do you mean she didn't lay a hand on him?" Fairy Godmother questioned.

"I used magic," Lori explained quietly as Fairy Godmother nodded her understanding.

"I'm sorry, I don't understand," Ben stated as we looked over at him. He was confused, so was Fairy Godmother. Of course an Auradonian wouldn't understand. It was an Isle thing.

 **************** "Violation of personal space," Lori offered as Ben gave her the same confusing look. She sighed. We both knew that there was only one thing that she could say for him to fully understand. "Rape." She said it quietly, just barely audible. Ben looked taken aback. He also looked angry. Lori's gaze fell to the floor. Freddie and Gaston III looked unaffected by the confession. Amy looked a little surprised. Scott looked annoyed and slightly angry as well. Evie, Carlos, and Jay looked upset, knowing it was partly our fault, but not really. He probably would have done it whether I slept with him or not. ****************

"I see," Fairy Godmother replied, just as shocked as Ben, but she didn't seem angry. "Well, if that's all, then you children may be dismissed." We all nodded and headed towards the door, but Ben gently grabbed my hand. He wanted to talk to me. Oh, dear.

"Mal," He said softly. I didn't look him in the eyes. "Is there anything else that you need to tell us? Tell me?" I shook my head.

"There is nothing that I _need_ to tell you."

"Okay, I know you'll tell me when you're ready," He stated as he rubbed my arms gently, ending that conversation. "I think today could have gone better."

"Ben," I sighed as I finally looked up. I could see the little crease on the bridge of his nose, meaning that he had something on his mind. I decided not to comment on it. "Things are getting out of hand. You have to admit it. They've been here for less than a day and we've already had a disaster. Not like a little harmless spell here or there. Audrey was SET ON FIRE."

"She's right, Ben," Fairy Godmother supported.

"I think everything is fine. Freddie admitted to hurting Audrey…"

"Ben, it wasn't just Freddie," I interrupted as he gave me a questioning look. "Amy was the one who set Audrey's hair on fire and started the storm. Freddie only caused her to croak." Ben nodded.

"I think we just need to give them some time," Ben concluded after a while.

"Where's your wand?" I asked Fairy Godmother.

"It's in the museum where it always is," Fairy Godmother responded, worry and confusion laced in her tone. "Why do you ask?"

"Because I believe that they plan on stealing it. I'm not sure about Lori, Amy, and Freddie, but definitely the boys," I explained. Both Ben and Fairy Godmother looked shocked.

"That is a serious accusation. Why would you think that, Mal?" Ben asked. I wanted to laugh at his ignorance, but thought better of it.

"When you introduce Jane as Fairy Godmother's daughter, they had this look in their eyes. I recognize that look. It was the same look that Jay, Evie, Carlos, and I had when we got here. Besides, Freddie's dad, Dr. Facilier wants nothing more than revenge. It's all he would talk about during school."

"School?" Fairy Godmother inquired.

"Yeah, he's the principal of Dragon Hall. The school on the Isle." Ben and Fairy Godmother nodded.

"Well, I'll make sure that it's safe. In the meantime, Mal, do you think you could help me with Audrey?" Fairy Godmother requested as I nodded. It's my sister's fault that Audrey needs fixing, so I guess it's my responsibility to be the one who fixes her. I just hoped that nothing like this would happen again.

* * *

 **Thank you all so much for being patient. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It was a bit longer than usual, so yeah. Thanks for reviewing, favoriting, or following this story. Thanks for just reading. Special thanks to pinksakura271 for allowing me to use her OC, Amy.**

 **The next chapter might take a little while to come out because I am going to be busy with life next week. I have school orientation and I'm also going to be out of state, helping my sister move. I should hopefully be able to get a chapter out, but if I can't... oh well, I tried.**


	13. Planning

Ben P.O.V.

It was the start of a new day. Hopefully a better day. Yesterday hadn't really gone to plan. It started out nicely, the new VKs arrived on time. Everything was good. Then, it kind of took a turn for the worse at the ball. The ball was… less than ideal. I don't really know what happened, or what started it all, because I had been pulled away for a minute. But I know how it ended. It ended in me, Audrey, and all of the VKs going to Fairy Godmother's office because Audrey's hair was set on fire, magically, and her voice had been turned into croaks. Not to mention the rainstorm that happened _in_ _the ballroom_. Also, the revelation of what happens to girls and women on the Isle wasn't really… great. I know that Gaston Jr. violated Lori and all that back on the Isle, but they seem to be somewhat okay now. I don't know. I'll give him another chance. If he steps out of line again, then I may have to consider sending him back to the Isle, or to a school for boys, and only boys. I still don't know what happened between him and Mal. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I really don't know anything about Mal's past life on the Isle. I won't push her though. She doesn't like to talk about the Isle, and now I can see why. At least, I can see one reason why. Knowing this new bit of information made me feel even worse for the kids. It also made me feel angry that Mal and the others had to go through that. I still can't believe that my father thought that the Isle was a good idea. I mean, I understand why he had done it, but he could have done a better job in doing it. Villains are still people, and those people have basically been living on an island of trash for the past 20 years. We're lucky none of them died. Actually no, people, especially kids, probably died all the time. It was probably normal for them to die. We were lucky that the _whole island_ didn't die. I'm glad that I made my proclamation last year. I'm glad that I'm giving these kids a chance, because they deserve one.

Amy P.O.V.

The ball had been fun. Extremely fun. That prissy pink princess had it coming. I don't know why everyone cared so much about her. Especially Mal. Why was she even friends with the stuck up daughter of Aurora? It was very unlike Mal. That's all I could really think about as I sat on my bed. I would never admit this to anyone, but I did miss Mal. She is my twin sister after all. But until she offers an acceptable apology, I refused to forgive her. We were supposed to take of each other. Yet, she left me behind. She probably hasn't even given me a second thought in the past year.

I need a good plan to get back at her. I need her to realize just how much she hurt me.

I was brought out of my thoughts by a knock at the door. I frowned slightly. It wasn't Freddie. Freddie didn't need to knock. I wasn't expecting anyone else. So, who was it? I got up slowly as another knock was heard.

"I'm coming!" I called as I made my way over to the door. I opened it to reveal the last person I expected to see: Lori. She was wearing black jeans, an emerald green top, and her usual gold leather jacket. She looked as pretty as always. "Hello."

"Hi, Amy. Sorry to drop by unannounced, but I just wanted to talk to you."

I gestured for her to enter. She did. She sat down at my desk, and I sat back down on my bed.

"So?" I asked, wanting to get this conversation over with.

"I know that Mal left you behind, but why do want to get back at her so badly?" Lori questioned slowly. She kept her gaze down on her the floor.

"Because she hasn't apologized. We were supposed to be there for each other and then she just disappeared."

"She didn't really have a choice in the matter," Lori reasoned on Mal's behalf.

"Why are you trying to defend her?"

Lori simply shrugged. "We understand each other. Besides things aren't as they used to be. She's happy here and anyone can see that she still cares greatly about you. Anyone can see that she's trying to make this right."

I huffed. "Well, she's not trying hard enough. Anyway…" I wanted to change the subject. "…how were you abandoned?" She had mentioned it yesterday, and I was curious. Since we were kids, Scotty never left her side. How could she possibly have been abandoned?

Lori's head shot up immediately. Her eyes wide. "I-I-I," She stuttered as her brain searched for something to say. She took a deep breath to calm herself down. "I'd rather not talk about it right now." She said quietly as her head drooped. I nodded, not saying anymore.

We sat in silence for a couple of minutes until I decided that I couldn't take it anymore. "Let's head to the boys' room." I stood up and headed for the door, not waiting for a response. I waited in the hall as Lori trudged after me. I locked the door behind her. We slowly walked through the halls until we found ourselves in front of the door that we were looking for. I gently knocked. Gaston III opened the door.

"Ladies," He greeted with a bored tone that matched his bored expression. He stepped aside so we could enter. I saw Freddie and Scotty sitting at the table, talking about something.

"Freddie!" I called to my best friend as she looked up at me. A small smile formed on her lips.

"Hey, sugar. How are you?"

"I'd be much better if we had a plan to get back at Mal," I replied as I sat down next to her. Lori took the last available seat: in between me and Scotty.

"How about we get her away from Beast Jr.?" Gaston Jr. suggested as a smirk graced his lips.

"If you even _think_ about touching either of them, I will _break_ you," Lori growled out before I could say anything. Why was she so protective of Mal?

"We aren't breaking up my sister and her boyfriend."

"And why not?" Gaston III tried as he took a step closer. In all honesty, I wanted my sister to learn a lesson, but I didn't want to break her. After what Evie had said about Mal and Ben loving each other… I couldn't ruin that for her. Then _she_ would never forgive _me._

"Because she said so," Freddie shot back, her tone leaving no room for argument. The Legume twins crossed their arms over their chests.

"You could do the one thing that she doesn't want you to do," Lori offered. I knew what she meant. The one thing that Mal never allowed me to do was socialize with either of the Gaston twins. I never understood why. It was like a puzzle that I could never solve, because she kept hiding the pieces.

"I like that idea," I said with a smile as I glanced in the direction of the twins. Lori gave a regretful look. She was starting to remind me of Evie. She knew a lot more than she let people believe.

"What do we have to do?" Gaston Jr. asked.

"Simple really. I'm sure even your thick skulls will understand," Freddie muttered under her breath as Scotty laughed. Lori glanced towards the twins in disgust. Gaston III rolled his eyes as Gaston Jr. glared at them.

"You," I pointed towards Gaston Jr., "have to pretend to be my boyfriend while we're around Mal and the others."

"Why me?"

"Because Mal hates you the most," Lori stated bluntly. She was right. Mal did hate Gaston Jr. more than his brother. That was an entirely different puzzle that needed to be solved. Gaston Jr. was about to fire back a reply when someone knocked on the door. Gaston III, being the closest one, moved to open it. Jay and Evie were on the other side. Evie looked slightly uncomfortable.

"I had a feeling that you'd all be together," Evie joked as she and Jay entered the room.

"What do you want?" Scotty asked. It was the first thing he's said since I arrived with Lori.

"We brought you're class schedules for tomorrow," Jay explained as he held up the papers that were in his hands.

"I never thought I'd see the day when Jay, son of Jafar, one of the most feared teens on the Isle, was handing out school schedules," Gaston III mocked as he moved closer to Evie. She sent him a glare, telling him to back off. He didn't.

Jay snorted, "Very original. Like I haven't heard some variation of that already."

"Why do we need school anyway?" Gaston Jr. complained as he received his. Jay and Evie rolled their eyes.

"This isn't the Isle, okay? They do things differently here," Evie retorted as she gave us girls our schedules.

"Yeah, like they actually expect you to show up," Jay joked as he gave Scotty and Gaston III theirs.

"Well, their wasting their time with that," Gaston III said as he looked the paper over.

Jay ignored the comment as he continued. "At least one of us will be in each of your classes, so you won't be alone, but you won't see each other until lunch, Remedial Goodness 101, maybe study hall, and in the girls' case: magic for beginners." I internally groaned. I would be separated from Freddie for most of the day? And how would we pull of this plan if Gaston Jr. and I only saw each other three times at school. Mal's presence was only guaranteed for one of those times: lunch.

"Any questions?" Evie asked as she inched towards the door, obviously wanting to leave.

"You have the three of us in the same magic class?" Lori asked Evie as she looked over her schedule as well.

"Yeah, you three will be taking magic lessons with me, Mal, Jane, Elanna, Petra, Bella and the other fairies, Ariella and Erica, and Jordan. You'll meet them all tomorrow. There are a lot of other people taking the class, but they don't have it at the same time as us. Fairy Godmother is the instructor," Evie explained as her hand grazed the door knob. Freddie leaned forward a bit.

"Fairy Godmother?" Freddie asked as Evie nodded. Her eyes narrowed at the question. She was probably on to us, or at least them. After all, they were the original four that tried to steal Fairy Godmother's wand. They wouldn't be wrong in assuming that the others wanted to do the same.

"Okay, thanks, Evie," Lori said as Evie waved and exited the room.

"See you all tomorrow!" Jay called over his shoulder before he closed the door on his way out.

"Ugh! They expect us to attend classes with all of these weak and annoying princes!" Gaston Jr. complained.

"Yeah, we are so much better and stronger than they are!" Gaston III added as he flexed his muscles. Lori and Scott rolled their eyes at the pair. Freddie couldn't care less. I looked on with a dreamy expression. How could anyone _not_ think that they were super cute?! I didn't understand. Okay, maybe, that incident with Lori had something to do with it. But, that was one time, and we don't know the full story. So, yeah… pushing that to the back of the mind.

"Get over yourselves," Lori snarled as she stood from her seat. She headed out the door.

The others started to converse amongst themselves. I stayed quiet, deep in thought. I really hope this plan will work.

* * *

 **Hey guys and gals! Long time no read, huh? Sorry about that. I didn't have any ideas for this chapter. I wrote a couple future chapters, but I can't upload them yet for obvious reasons. This is more of a filler chapter. If you guys have any ideas, feel free to let me know. Thanks for reviewing, favoriting, and following. Thanks for simply reading. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter.**


	14. Sweet Treats

**A long chapter for you guys. I don't know what happened I just started writing, and I couldn't stop. I realized that I didn't thank pinksakura271 in the last chapter. I'm so so sorry! So: A special thanks to pinksakura271 for letting me use her OC Amy! I hope you all enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

Mal and Evie had been in the kitchen for hours. They were trying to make everything that they thought Amy would enjoy the most. Mal was hoping that if she took the time to make everything for Amy, than she would be forgiven. It was a long shot, but Mal was hoping that she had good aim.

"M? Are you sure this is going to work?" Evie questioned as she grabbed a bowl of fresh strawberries.

Mal sighed. "I'm not sure of anything anymore. I _hope_ that this works. If not, then I'm all out of ideas."

Amy had always been a picky eater. If she ate anything that the two teens were making, it would be a win in Mal's eyes. Mal grabbed one of the strawberries from the bowl and popped it into her mouth.

"Mal! Those are for Amy!" Evie playfully scolded as her lips formed a smile. Mal simply shrugged.

"There's enough to go around," She said easily as she started to cut them up. She placed a few onto the freshly decorated cupcakes. There were some of every flavor: chocolate, vanilla, banana bread, red velvet, lemon, and more. There we also cookies that matched the flavors of cupcakes. Mal and Evie didn't know what the pink haired teen would like, so they just made as many as they could. They made it a point to use pink frosting, though. Seeing as it was Amy's favorite color.

Evie let out a laugh as she grabbed some containers for the treats. "Of course there is."

"Mal, Evie, there you guys are!" Someone cried out as Mal grabbed another strawberry.

"We've been looking everywhere for you!"

Mal finally turned around, only to be face to face with the Legume twins.

"Why exactly have you been looking for us?" Mal sneered as she narrowed her eyes at the boys. Behind her, Evie fumbled with and nearly dropped the glass Tupperware that was in her hands. She caught it last minute and quickly placed it down on the counter as to not drop it.

"We just wanted to see you again, that's all," Gaston III said smoothly as he inched closer to Evie. She backed away from him and moved to stand closer to Mal. The purple haired teen gripped the knife that was still in her hand. Her knuckles were white. She _really_ didn't want to have to use it. But she would if she had to. The others would be okay with it if it was just for self-defense, right? She hoped so.

"Well, we definitely don't want to see either of you. So, if you could just go, that would be pretty helpful," Mal fired in their direction. She could feel Evie trembling slightly behind her. Evie never liked to be alone in a room with the boys, and they were blocking the only exit.

"Oh, come on Mal, don't be like that," Gaston Jr. cooed. "Besides, there's no one here to help you out."

"We don't need anyone else," Evie snapped. She was surprised that her voice had come out so even and confident. That's definitely not how she felt.

"You sure about that?" Gaston Jr. asked as he took a step closer. Mal and Evie took a step back in response.

"Text Jay," Mal discretely whispered to Evie so the twins wouldn't hear her. Evie quickly nodded as she pulled out her phone. "We obviously don't want you here. Why don't you just go?"

"Where's the fun in that?" Gaston III asked as Mal cocked her head to the side slightly. They just didn't understand.

"Why us?" Mal finally asked after a minute. "Why did you meat heads pick us to stalk and drool over?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Gaston Jr. questioned. There was a twinkle in his eye. Mal would bet anything that it didn't mean anything good. "You two are the prettiest roses in the garden."

Evie tapped Mal's arm softly, letting her know that she was finished with her text.

"We're also the ones with the most thorns," Mal countered as the boys took another step forward. Gaston Jr. was only an arm's distance away from Mal.

"That may be true," He stated coolly as he lifted a hand to Mal's face and brushed some of her hair out of the way. "But I like a good challenge." Mal immediately grabbed him by the wrist and squeezed. Her eyes glowed a bright green.

"Don't get too cocky," Mal warned. "Our thorns are sharper than you realize. And we're aren't afraid to prick those we don't like." She shoved his hand away from her. It landed back at his side. He smirked.

"You're a feisty one, aren't you," Gaston Jr. said in that smug tone of his. Mal wanted more than anything to hurt him. She lifted her hand, the one that was sill wrapped around the knife. Evie immediately stopped her. She looked back at the blue haired girl. Evie shook her head.

"Don't let him get to you," She advised quietly as she released Mal's hand. "You know you'll regret it." Mal took a deep breath, trying to calm herself.

"You're lucky we're in Auradon," Mal finally said, her tone was dangerous. "If we were back on the Isle, I would have killed you by now."

Gaston Jr. was about to reply.

"Hey everyone. What's going on?" Someone called out. The twins turned around to see who the newcomer was as Mal let out a breath that she wasn't aware she had been holding.

"King Ben," Gaston III nearly growled. "So glad you could stop by." Mal turned and gave Evie a quizzical look. Evie shrugged.

"Jay didn't answer," She explained as Ben made his was over to Mal.

"Hi Evie. Hey, princess. How are you?" He greeted his girlfriend as he placed a small kiss on her forehead and wrapped an arm around her waist. He immediately noticed the knife in her hand and how tightly she was holding on to it. He also saw how brightly her eyes were glowing.

"Fine," Mal muttered, not taking her eyes off of Gaston Jr.

"I think it's time for you two to leave," Evie commanded, leaving no room for any arguments. With a huff, the boys sauntered off. Mal finally let go of the knife. It fell to the floor with a loud _CLANG!_

"Are you sure you're alright?" Ben questioned as Mal looked him in the eyes. Her glowing greens eyes had died down and were now back to their normal shade.

"I'm fine," She replied, a little more chipper.

"Okay," Ben stated, not fully believing her. "So, what are you two up to? Evie said you needed some help."

"Uh, we're just baking some treats for everyone. We could really use an extra pair of hands," Evie improvised as she picked up the containers once again. Mal laughed.

"What's so funny?" Ben gave his girlfriend a questioning look.

"You couldn't bake to save your life!" Mal managed to get out in between her fits of laughter. Ben smiled.

"You wanna bet?" Ben asked as Mal's laughter died down.

"Depends. What do I get when I win?" Mal asked, a smirk tugging at the corners of her lips.

" _If_ you win, then you get to pick our next date," Ben declared as Mal laughed.

"Deal."

"Don't you want to know what will happen if _I_ win?" Ben asked as Mal laughed even harder.

"You must be dreaming. Besides, I never lose." They shook on it.

About an hour or so later, the trio had finished baking. Ben was a mess. He had flour in his hair. His face was covered in flour and frosting. He had frosting all over his clothes. Mal looked completely fine. As did Evie.

"So?" Mal questioned her boyfriend as she attempted to hold back the laugh that was bubbling up.

"Okay, I'll admit, that could have gone better," Ben confessed as he attempted to get the flour out of his hair.

"I win!" Mal exclaimed, a triumphant smile on her face. She and Evie shared a laugh.

"Yeah, you win," Ben agreed. He was wearing his own smile. He may have lost the bet, but his girlfriend was happy. That was a win in his book.

"I have to ask," Mal began, "what would have happened if you won?"

Ben looked sheepishly down at the floor. "Well, I would have taken you to dinner with my parents." Mal's eyes widened. Sure, she loved Adam and Belle, and they loved her. But, the four of them had never really just sat down and talked. It had been a year, yes, but Mal always found some way to get out of having dinner with Ben and his parents.

"I see," She finally said. She grabbed the nearest napkin and ran it under the tap for a second. She squeezed out the excess water before she used it to clean Ben's face.

"They really want to get to know you better," Ben tried to explain as he watched his girlfriend. Mal looked him in the eyes as she stopped what she was doing. Her hand was still on his face. Evie stayed silent, not really knowing what to do.

"I get that, Ben," Mal sighed as she lowered her hand. She backed up until she was leaning against the counter.

"Then, what's the problem?" Ben inquired. He didn't understand why Mal kept avoiding this. Did she not like his parents? That was the only explanation that he could think of.

"You said that they wanted to get to know me better," Mal started as Ben nodded, a confused look plastered on his face. That's exactly what he had said. "What if… what if they don't like what they discover? What if they, you, don't like what's hidden behind the surface? What if they think I'm not good enough for you? What if I'm _not_ good enough for you." That was her biggest fear. Not being good enough for Ben. That's the main reason why she never told him that she loved him.

Ben's heart broke a little as he heard Mal's explanation for not wanting to have dinner with his parents. He moved stepped forward and pulled her away from the counter and closer to him. He wrapped her in a hug. She hugged him back and buried her face in his chest. "That's a lot of if's. None of that could ever happen. They… we will love you for you. Whatever is hidden behind the surface is what makes you who you are. And I love who you are. Nothing could ever change that. Okay?" He felt Mal nod before she lifted her head to look at him. There were tears in her eyes.

"I love you, Ben," Mal whispered softly as she kissed his cheek. Ben smiled brightly. He would never grow tired of hear her say that. "But right now…" She wriggled out of his grasp. "…you really need to go change." She wiped off all of the frosting and flour that she had gotten all over herself from hugging Ben.

He smiled, "Anything for you, princess." He bowed slightly as Mal rolled her eyes at him. But, she couldn't help but smile herself.

"You're a goof," She laughed as Ben's smile got bigger, if that was even possible.

"And you're in love with a goof." He disappeared out the kitchen door as Mal continued to smile.

"Well, that just happened," Evie breathed as she started putting the baked goods away in containers.

"Yes it did." Mal's thoughts went back to Amy. It was killing her that she couldn't talk to her sister about any of this.

"Well it's almost lunch time, we should finish packing these if we want to get them to Amy in time," Evie stated as she filled one container and moved on to the next one.

"You're right, E. As always," Mal praised her friend. Evie smiled as she handed her purple haired friend a few containers.

"Mind taking these to the table while I continue packing?" Evie asked with that bright smile and sweet tone of hers.

"Of course," Mal responded as she took the four containers from Evie. What? They had done a lot of baking. She carefully headed out of the kitchen and out to the courtyard where she knew her friends would be waiting. It took her a little longer than usual to get there because she didn't want to drop anything. When she finally made it outside and to the table, all of friends were already there.

"Hey Mal!" Audrey called out when she noticed the purple haired fairy.

"Let me help you with those," Ben offered as he took a couple off of the top of the stack.

"Thanks, Ben," Mal thanked as she and Ben set the Tupperware on the picnic table.

"Ooh! Sweet treats!" Carlos exclaimed as he reached for one. Mal slapped his hand away. "Ow! Mal! What was that for?!" His friends laughed as he whined and rubbed the back of his hand.

"These are for Amy," Mal explained. "Do. Not. Touch." She looked pointedly at Carlos and Jay. They reluctantly nodded. "Good. Now, I'll be back. I have to help Evie with the rest." She turned to the others. "Watch them." They nodded before bursting out into laughter. Mal smiled as she walked back to the kitchen.

The group of 8 friends broke out into small talk. They tried to distract themselves from the deserts that sat in front of them. They smelled absolutely delicious. It was a known fact that Mal was a great baker. They had all tried to convince her that she should open up a bakery or something, like how Evie had started her own fashion business. She would always refuse and play the modesty card: Saying how she wasn't that good.

Then, Ben spotted the new VKs: Amy, Lori, Scott, the Legume twins, and Freddie.

"Hey guys!" He shouted in their direction, immediately gaining their attention. He gestured for them to come over.

"Hey Ben," Lori greeted as they arrived in front of the table. Jay and Carlos tensed slightly. Something that didn't go unnoticed. Jane and Audrey eyed their boyfriends carefully.

"What's up?" Freddie asked.

"Why don't you guys join us for lunch?" Ben offered as his friends nodded.

"Is Mal coming?" Amy asked as she glanced around the yard.

"Yeah, she and Evie just had to get something," Ben explained as Amy looked back at him.

"Okay." The new group set down their trays and sat down. All except for Lori.

"I actually promised Thea that I would eat with her today," She stated as she caught sight of her cousin.

"Maybe another time then," Ben said as Lori gave him a polite smile.

"Yeah, maybe," She headed off with a small wave.

"What are these for?" Freddie asked, noticing the treats that were still in the middle of the table.

"Those are Mal's," Ben stated as the twins eyed them excitedly. Anything that involved food excited them.

"Don't touch," Jay warned as Gaston Jr. rolled his eyes.

"Says who?" Gaston III challenged as Jay folded his arms across his chest.

"Says Mal."

Gaston Jr. and Gaston III huffed in annoyance as they turned back to their own plates, which were piled high with food. And the others thought that Jay and Carlos ate a lot. How many stomachs the two had was unknown.

A few minutes later, Gaston Jr. noticed Mal and Evie exiting the building, near the lockers. He discretely nudged Amy. She looked up to see what was happening. A smirk graced Gaston's lips as Mal glared hard at him from across the field. He placed his arm around Amy. She stiffened at the contact. Yeah, she thought he and his brother were cute, but that didn't mean that she wanted his arm around her. Without her consent, she might add. Especially after what Lori had said. She tried her best not to let her irritation show.

' _Remember the plan.'_ She thought to herself.

Mal and Evie immediately dropped whatever was in their hands out of shock. The glass containers fell to the floor with a loud _CRASH!_ Everyone quieted. They had gained the attention of everyone outside. Ben immediately got up and started to head in the direction of the two girls. The rest of their friends looked to them with confused expressions. Mal glared at Gaston Jr., her eyes once again glowing a brilliant green. Her hands were balled into fists.

"M?" Evie whispered as she placed a hand on Mal's shoulder, worried about what her best friend was going to do.

"Mal?" Ben called as he reached the pair. "Mal?" He took her hands in his. Mal quickly snapped her attention to the boy that was now in front of her. Her eyes fading back to their normal shade of emerald green.

"Sorry," She muttered as she glanced back towards her sister.

"It's okay," Ben said gently as he wrapped her in a hug. "Want to tell me what's going on?"

"Not really."

"Okay, that's alright." He was slightly disappointed, but he knew that Mal would tell him on her own time.

Mal pulled out of the embrace. She used her magic to clean up the mess that she and Evie had made. The people around them were slowly going back to what they were doing before. The buzz starting to return.

"Let the others know that they can have whatever they want. But Amy gets first pick," She mumbled before she turned to leave.

"M, you're not coming to eat?" Evie questioned as Mal simply waved away her friend's concern.

"I've lost my appetite."

"Come on, Evie. Let's go," Ben said as he waited for Evie to start walking. They headed back to their table, their friends still confused.

"What happened? Where's Mal?" Jane asked as Amy shrugged off Gaston's arm.

"She lost her appetite," Evie explained quietly as she eyed Gaston Jr. and Amy. She made it a point to sit as far away from the twins as possible.

"She also said that we can have whatever we wanted," Ben added as he gestured towards the treats that were still sitting in the center of their table. "But, Amy gets to pick first."

Amy looked at Ben, not the least bit surprised. Mal had done the same when they were back on the Isle. "You sure?"

"We made them mainly for you. That's why they all have pink frosting," Evie replied before Ben had the chance as she turned to the salad that Doug had gotten for her.

"Okay," Amy said simply as she picked up a red velvet cupcake. She took a bite and hummed in approval. She especially liked what was on top. She assumed it was a strawberry, but she didn't know for sure. Everyone else at the table immediately dove in to enjoy them.

"These are so good," Freddie sang as she took a bite out of a double fudge cookie.

"They taste much better than the ones that the goblins made on the Isle," Scott complimented as Evie gave him a small smile in thanks.

"Are you sure that Mal, daughter of the Mistress of All Evil, made these?" Gaston Jr. teased as he smirked.

"Positive," Evie responded, not hiding her irritation.

"I've never seen this side of Mal before," Freddie stated thoughtfully as she continued to eat her cookie. "I like it."

"Who knew the daughter of Maleficent had gone soft!" Gaston III mused as he bit into a peanut butter cookie. Ben frowned deeply. He didn't like the way that, whichever Gaston this was, had said that. It didn't really matter which one it was though, they had both made comments about his girlfriend. He knew he wasn't the only one who didn't like it.

"My sister is not soft," Amy countered before Ben could argue. Evie sent a small smile her way. Amy may not be on the best terms with her twin, but that doesn't mean she couldn't stick up for her. She knows Mal would have done the same. Besides, what part of 'no one touches Mal' did they not understand? She thought she had been pretty clear.

"I wouldn't hurt her pride if I were you," Freddie added.

"And why is that?" Gaston Jr. provoked as he grabbed a cookie.

"You upset Mal, you're going to have a _lot_ of angry people on you trail," Freddie stated simply. "Including, but not limited to, the angry dragoness herself, an angry demigod, some angry princesses and princes, an angry warrior in training, an angry Best King, an angry dwarf, and a couple angry fairies. Besides, we all know that between you and Mal, Mal would definitely win the fight, easily too."

"Sure, whatever you say," Gaston III scoffed in disbelief. Boy did he have a thick skull. "I still think she's gone soft." Evie slammed her fist down on the table, clearly fed up with how he and his brother were talking about her best friend.

"She has _not_ gone soft!" Evie yelled, once again drawing everyone's attention. Amy, being an empath, could feel the frustration and anger that was radiating off of the blue haired teen.

"Evie," Doug said softly.

"No! I have had enough of this!" She gathered up her things and the food that she had left over before marching away from the group, throwing her trash out on the way.

"Evie!" Her friends called at her, but she ignored them.

"We'll go check on her and Mal," Jay volunteered as he stood up, dragging Carlos with him. Ben and Doug gave them grateful looks. They would have gone themselves, but they were sure that neither girl really wanted to see them right now. The boys followed after Evie to make sure she was alright. Well, Jay followed. Carlos was dragged, but he didn't object. He knew how easy it was for Gaston III to get on her nerves.

"Bad temper, just like her mother," Gaston III commented as he watched Evie storm off. Something sparkled in his eyes before he returned to stuffing his mouth.

"Well, you know what they say, the poison apple doesn't fall far from the weeds," Gaston Jr. retorted.

"She is _nothing_ like the Evil Queen," Amy sneered at the boys. Evie was still one of her good friends and she was going to give credit where credit was due. She was nothing like her mother. Her mother was vain and a gold digger. That may be how Evie started out, but she has grown so much since arriving in Auradon. Sure the twins were helping her and they were cute, but they were crossing so many lines right now. Did they not have a filter?

Ben, Audrey, Chad, Lonnie, Doug, and Jane all sat in silence for the rest of their lunch. They didn't really know what to say to the five VKs that sat by them. So, they opted to just say nothing. No one had ever seen Evie blow up like that. Usually, Jay was the one with a temper. Evie and Mal were usually calm, cool, and collected. Now, with the arrival of the new kids, it seemed like the girls were starting to lose their patience. The group of friends just wished they knew why.

* * *

Evie stormed into her and slammed the door behind her. She saw Mal laying on her bed, sketching something in her new sketchbook. Ben had given it to her as a gift for taking his advice and joining an art class. To Mal's surprise, she actually enjoyed the class. Mal immediately looked up to see that her best friend was fuming.

"E? What's wrong?" Mal asked, her tone was serious. She hadn't seen Evie this angry since they left the Isle.

"Those no good twins! That's what's wrong!" Evie cried out as she flopped onto her bed. "Why did Ben have to invite _them_? There are plenty of other kids on the Isle that he could have picked. And he picked _them_! Just our luck!"

"What did they do?" Mal's voice was laced with venom.

"They were calling you soft and making fun of you because you're good at baking!" Evie exclaimed as she threw her arms up in the air. "At least Amy and Freddie tried to defend you."

"E," Mal said softly. She was glad that her sister would still stick up for her and she was glad that Amy had Freddie. The VooDoo priestess wasn't so bad. What the boys had said wasn't a huge deal, but she knew how easily they annoyed Evie. The blue haired teen slowly raised her head to look at Mal. "You can't let them get to you like that."

Evie sighed, "No fair. You can't use my own words against me."

"But it's the truth, and its the only thing we can legally do to deal with them."

Evie laughed. "I know you're right, but I can't help it. They're down right infuriating."

"I know what you mean," Mal closed her sketch book as she sat up right on her bed.

"I brought you an apple," Evie offered as she reached into her bag to get the fruit. "I figured you'd be at least a little hungry."

Mal took the apple gratefully. "Thanks, E." She shared a smile with her pseudo sister as she took a bite of the juicy fruit that had been given to her. She heard a knock at the door and stood to answer it. "You expecting anyone?" Evie shook her head as Mal opened the door. Jay and Carlos stood on the other side of it.

"You two alright?" Jay asked as Carlos smoothed out his shirt. Being dragged around campus can leave some serious wrinkles in one's shirt.

"Fine, now," Mal answered as she let the boys in.

"It's just hard to be in the same country as those two," Evie vented as she sat up.

"Sorry about that," Jay apologized.

"Yeah, we should have helped you guys out," Carlos added, a guilty look crossed his face.

"It's not your fault. If anyone is to blame, it's them," Mal corrected as she took another bite of her apple. "But, we should be better than them. We can't sink down to their level." The others hummed in agreement.

Mal quickly finished her apple, but she couldn't really concentrate on anything. She kept thinking about her sister and those annoying twins. At least Amy didn't completely hate her. That was a plus. What she couldn't figure out is why her sister liked those boys so much. She doubted she would ever understand. She just hoped that they wouldn't do anything too stupid.

* * *

 **Well, that was long. I hope you all enjoyed that. It took me all day to write. I'm literally trapped inside of my house, so I have nothing else to do. There were a few minutes where I thought I wouldn't be able to upload today. Irma (the hurricane) knocked out my internet. Then I got a tornado warning. So, yeah.**

 **Thanks for reviewing, following, and favoriting. Thanks for just reading. It really means a lot. A special thanks to pinksakura271 for letting me use her OC Amy and for helping me out. Without her, this story would be A LOT different. Probably not as good. Well, i'm off to write the next chapter.**


	15. Listen to Your Heart, but How?

Lori and I were sitting at an extremely long table in the school library, studying for our history class that we have together. It had been a relatively quiet day in comparison to her first day here in Auradon. I didn't know about the other new VKs, but Lori really applied herself when it came to school. She reminded me a lot of Evie in that way. Beautiful, but capable of so much more.

I felt really bad, a little guilty. Her little run in with Gaston Jr. was partly my fault. I know that Gaston Jr. probably would have done it anyway, but I couldn't help but feel as though my move to Auradon had caused the whole thing. Not that I had any say in the matter. He didn't have anyone to obsess over while I was gone, so he turned Lori into a target. Now, there was something going on between him and my sister. After seeing them at lunch earlier, that was quite obvious. I still haven't eaten anything more than that apple since then. I feel like throwing up every time I think about what happened. I hated him more and more every day.

"Hey, Mal?" Lori asked as I turned my attention towards her.

"Yeah, Lori?"

"I can't seem to find the section about the Huns. Do you know where it is?"

"I think I saw it on page 156," I responded as she flipped through a few pages.

"Okay, I've found it. Thanks," She thanked as she went back to her notes.

"No problem." I returned to my thoughts, giving up on studying. What was the point? I had too much on my mind to care about some history notes.

I was brought out of my thoughts once again when Chris came and sat down a few seats away from Lori. She didn't seem to notice the presence of the new comer. She was too wrapped up in taking notes from the book to really care about what was going on around her. I smiled, just like Evie. I'm glad that they were paired up together.

It was clear to me why Chris had sat nearby: Lori. I usually saw him in the library while I did homework, or something, but he rarely ever sat so close. He usually sat at the other end of the table, mainly because it was closer to an outlet and the window. He often brought his laptop, so he needed an outlet to plug it in. Every now and then, I would catch him gazing out of the large window. I personally think that they would make a cute couple. Not that there was anything wrong with Scott, because there wasn't. The two of them just don't seem right together anymore, at least not to me. Besides, he and Amy would be so cute together! I saw how she kept glancing in his direction when we were in Fairy Godmother's office. How she would look at him. She obviously likes him. To me, her slightly older twin sister, it was quite obvious. She always did like her felines.

Gaston Jr. had come by and plopped down in front of me and Lori. A smug look on his face. "How are my favorite two ladies doing on this fine evening?" He asked, using that voice that would make almost every girl on the Isle swoon.

"Much worse now that you've decided to grace us with your presence," I remarked, my tone dangerous. The tone that would give people nightmares when we were back on the Isle. Lori snapped to attention, while Gaston only chuckled.

"Oh come on, Mal. We both know that your façade doesn't work on me," Gaston Jr. cooed. "You should stop lying to yourself."

 **[*Façade – an outward appearance that is maintained to conceal a less pleasant or creditable reality*.** _ **Just in case you were wondering.]**_

"And what am I lying to myself about exactly?" I asked, making sure to keep the anger and annoyance out of my voice, even though they were rising. You never wanted to show any type of emotion when dealing with Gaston or his offspring. Gil was the only exception. He wasn't like his brothers. He was better, much better. Cute, almost. Like a lost puppy.

"That you don't like being around me. I know that you have a huge crush on me. Both of you. It's okay to admit it," He replied as he flashed his famous, and incredibly annoying, smile. I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, right. Like that would ever happen," Lori scoffed. "I don't date obnoxious baboons."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that you're a douche," Lori stated flatly. "If you picked up a book every now and then, you would know that you are clearly unwanted here." I smirked. I hadn't seen the snippy Lori in quite some time. I have to say, I missed this side of her. The 'new' Lori was great and all, but it didn't seem like her.

"Please, like it matters. Besides, as my father says: It's not right for a woman to read. They start thinking and getting ideas," Gaston Jr. recited in disgust as he swiped Lori's book and notes. He was infuriating. If he kept this up, then I wouldn't be able to control my anger anymore. "What are you so interested in anyway?"

"Hey! Gaston! Give that back!" Lori nearly yelled as her eyes turned icy. She caught the attention of the blond prince that was only a few seats away. Chris looked intently at the situation. Deciding whether he should intervene or not. I growled at the raven haired _boy_ in front of me. He was definitely no man.

"Gaston Jr.," I snarled with a warning tone. He simply laughed as Lori tried to reach over the table to retrieve her belongings.

"What Mal? What are you going to do?" He teased. "Nothing. You can't do anything. Wanna know why?"

"Why is that?"

Lori continued to struggle as Gaston let out a hearty laugh. I could see the green sparks at her finger tips. "Because Auradon has made you soft," Gaston shrugged as he flipped through the pages of Lori's notebook. "Besides…"

"I would give that back to the lady if I were you," A new voice sounded, not allowing Gaston Jr. to finish his statement. We turned towards the newcomer. It was Chris. He decided to intervene after all.

"I don't remember inviting you to the conversation," Gaston Jr. said, annoyed that someone had interrupted him.

"I don't remember Lori giving you permission to touch her books," Chris proclaimed sternly, shooting us an apologetic look that seemed to say _'Sorry for eavesdropping.'_ Lori waved her hand, forgiving him for that instantly as a small blush creeped onto her cheeks. I didn't mind either. "Give them back, or I'll be forced to go Fairy Godmother about this." Gaston Jr. huffed before tossing her books back on the table. Lori took them, giving Chris a grateful look.

Chris gathered his things, shot Gaston Jr. one last look, and left the library.

"As I was saying," Gaston Jr. continued, no longer bothered by what he considered to be a minor disturbance. "You can't do anything if you don't want that little _beast_ of yours to know the truth." Lori's eyes widened. She couldn't believe that he had just threatened _Mal_. The nerve of some people!

I let my eyes glow a devilish green as I stood abruptly. My chair scraped against the floor loudly, gaining the attention of others. I was furious. He had pulled the last straw by bringing Ben into this. "He is _not_ a beast. He is a _much_ better _man_ than you'll ever be! Not that you'll ever be one. And if you know what is good for you and your no good brother, you both will stay far, far away from him and everyone. Including me!" I shouted. I didn't care that the whole library had heard me. Some of them had even recorded the outburst. I quickly packed my own books and stormed out of the library, Lori right behind me. Neither of us had missed the smirk that had found its way onto Gaston Jr.'s lips. I just hoped that Ben didn't hear or see any of this. At least, not before I told him. Hopefully, I would never have to.

Lori and I headed over to the picnic tables. I was still fuming and I could tell that Lori was as well. The sparks hadn't disappeared yet.

"He is so irritating!" Lori vented. "When will he get the damn hint?!"

"Lori, I'm going to need you to calm down. Your fingers are sparking," I tried to sound as calm and gentle as possible, even if that wasn't how I felt.

Lori looked down at her hands. "Sorry. I guess those magic classes won't be so bad." We shared a small chuckle. "Hey, Mal?"

"Yeah?"

"How do you know that Ben is the one?" She asked in a quiet voice.

I thought about it for a minute. I never really had to put it into words before. "I don't know. I guess it's just this feeling. I just knew. I can't really describe it. Why do you ask?"

"I need some advice," Lori revealed tentatively.

"Okay, about relationships?"

Lori sighed. "Yeah. Relationships."

"I see. What about relationships?"

Lori grunted as she fell down onto one of the benches. "Like maybe why they're so damn complicated and confusing!"

"I don't think anyone has cracked that code yet, unfortunately. What is the real problem?" I didn't know much about relationships. I have only been in one real one, with Ben. Not including any 'dating' that had been done back on the Isle. If you can even consider that as dating. It was more like gang activity in most cases.

"I don't know how I feel about Scott anymore. I mean, I still care about him, of course, but I don't know if I still like him… in that way. And then there's…"

"Chris?"

"Yeah. I think… I think I'm starting to… like him." She blushed. "Plus, I'm pretty sure that Amy likes Scott. And I think that he is starting to like her too."

So I wasn't the only one who saw it.

"Well, I don't know a lot when it comes to love. But someone once gave me some good advice, which I will relay to you. Follow your heart."

"You know that leaves more questions than answers, right?" Lori frowned as I let out a small laugh.

"Yeah, I kind of figured you would have that kind of reaction. So, I have a plan B." I took out a quarter and held it out in the palm of my hand. "I only see two options here. Heads, you stay with Scott, and put your budding feelings for Chris aside and just be friends. Or, tails, you and Scott break up and you pursue this… _thing_ with Chris."

"Okay, I guess we could give it a whirl."

I flipped the coin. It landed on heads. Lori frowned slightly.

"Well, there's your answer. You break up with Scott and see what happens with Chris," I announced as Lori gave me a confused look.

"What? But it landed on heads! Heads means that I should stay with Scott and be friends with Chris."

"Exactly. It landed on heads and you looked a little upset with that answer. The coin doesn't give you the answer, it's your reaction to the given answer."

"Oh."

"You see, you already knew the answer. You just hadn't realized it yet."

Lori offered a small smile. "Thanks Mal."

"Any time," I replied. "I actually have to get going, but I'll see you later, okay?"

"Yeah, see you later Mal," Lori waved as I stood. I headed off back to my room.

Lori sat at the picnic table, deep in thought. Her history notes lay forgotten next to her. Once again, she didn't notice when a certain blond prince took a seat in front of her. He waited a minute before saying anything.

"Lori, are you alright?" He finally spoke. Lori quickly looked up, a little startled.

"Oh, yeah. I'm fine. Thanks," Lori responded as a small blush found its way onto her pale cheeks. She could feel tiny butterflies fluttering around in her stomach. She knew what it meant, but she chose to ignore it. "What are you doing here?"

"I was passing by and I saw you sitting here. You looked a little lost, so I thought I would see if you were okay. Especially after that library incident."

"Right. That." Lori rolled her eyes at the mere thought of it. "That was unfortunate. Thanks for stepping in."

"It was really no problem. I'm sure anyone would have done the same."

"Anyone in Auradon maybe. People on the Isle wouldn't have cared."

"You'd be surprised at how annoying and self-absorbed some of these princes and princesses are. Believe me, my own brother used to be a royal pain."

Lori let out a small laugh. Chris smiled, knowing that he was lifting her spirits, if only just a smidge. "So far, everyone seems welcoming, but, it's mostly a lot of staring and whispering," Lori stated as she traced the wood of the table with her finger.

"Well, you did make quite the impression with that ball gown. I think some girls feel threatened by you."

Lori blushed. She bowed her head so Chris wouldn't notice, but he did. He smiled; he thought it was cute.

"Oh please, that was all Evie. She made the dress," Lori responded modestly as she fidgeted with her hands.

"Evie may have made the dress, but you were the one wearing, and rocking, it. You were truly stunning. You still are, by the way. Nothing has changed except for what you're wearing."

"That's very kind of you. Thanks." Lori's blushed deepened as she looked up at Chris. She could see that he was being genuine. She wasn't used to receiving such sweet and sincere compliments. Especially from someone as cute as Chris. "Chris, can I ask you something a little… personal?"

"Sure. Go ahead."

Hesitantly, Lori asked, "Have you ever been in love?" After talking with Mal earlier, the topic had really been stuck in her head. Of course she loved Scott. At least, she thought it was love. She just didn't think that she was _in_ love with him.

Chris took a moment to really think about the question that he had been asked. "I have only had a couple girlfriends in the past. I cared for both of them deeply, and I still do. But, I wouldn't say that… that I was in love with them. So, no, I've never been in love. You?"

Lori looked over at him. Studying him carefully. Finally, she sighed. "As much as I love - at least I _think_ that's what it is - Scott, I don't feel like I'm in love with him."

"So what are you going to do about it?"

"I don't know. I'm a confused and lost mess."

"Sometimes the best thing that you can do is to just go with your gut and follow your heart."

"People keep saying that, but I don't know what it means. What if my heart has turned itself to ice?"

"Then, I suppose, you need to find someone who can help you thaw it. And if Scott hasn't done that by now, then I don't think he's the one."

' _What if I already found_ the one _?'_ Lori thought to herself as she took in the sight Chris. She knew she felt _something_ for him, but her damn emotions were still new to her. She was used to feeling three things: anger when something didn't go her way or when someone upset her, happy when she watched people she hated on the Isle suffer, or sometimes, very rarely, she felt a little lonely. Now, there were so many more. And they were all getting mixed up in her brain.

"How did you know when it was time to end your previous relationships?" Lori inquired. She wanted to know more about this strange concept of love and feelings. She was unsure of everything. All she knew was that it could make people go crazy and do stupid things. Though, in the process, she was learning more about Chris.

"Well, after a while, I was no longer as happy as I could be with my relationship. I could tell that she was a little down as well. So, I just ripped off the Band-Aid and hoped for the best."

"Are you… are you still friends?" That was perhaps her biggest fear. That Scott would hate her and never talk to her again. Not that they were really talking right now.

"Yeah, we are. I see them in the hallways. We have classes together. I still talk to them."

Lori took Chris's words to heart. She knew that her relationship with Scott was only going downhill, and if they didn't get out soon, they would both end up more hurt than necessary.

"Chris?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for talking to me about all of this."

Chris gently took her hand in his. Lori stared down at their intertwined hands. She felt an odd tingling sensation. It was something that she couldn't describe, but it made her smile.

"I'll be here whenever you need me. Always."

Lori tore her gaze away from their hands so she could look him in the eyes. She knew that he was serious. She could tell that he meant every word that had come out of his mouth.

"Thanks," Lori's response came out small. Something that was unusual for her. Chris gave her hand a small, barely noticeable, squeeze before he released it. He stood up and offered an encouraging smile as he turned to leave. Lori returned his smile as she was buried in her thoughts once again. There were a million thoughts racing around in her mind. She was completely lost, but at the same time, she knew exactly where she was going. She just hoped that she could get to her final destination in one piece.

* * *

 **Hey guys and gals! Hi hoped that you like this chapter. Sorry for the long delay. I took a break from Fan Fiction.**

 **I wanted the Chris/Lori scene to be a little more... I don't know... romantic maybe? I don't really know, but I'm not entirely happy with it. It's okay, but just okay.**

 **Anyway... if you read 'The Lost Princess' and are waiting for the sequel, it will be uploaded soon. I want to finish 'Poison' before I start a new Descendants story. I hope you all understand.**

 **If you were affected by Irma and/or Maria, I sincerely hope that you, your friends, and your family are all okay.**

 **Thanks to everyone who followed, favorited, and/or reviewed. Thanks for simply reading. It really means a lot to me.**


	16. Her True Potential

Lori made up her mind as she stood from the picnic table. She would go talk to Scott. She would go talk to him right now. Although, she had no idea of where he might be. The first place she decided to check was the tourney field. Tourney practice would start in a few minutes. The twins had taken a liking to the game, mainly because it was the most violent thing they could legally do in Auradon. She decided it was a good a place as any to start.

As Lori neared the Tourney field, she allowed her thoughts to run wild. She had no idea what she was going to say once she found him. She was so nervous. No, she was beyond nervous. What a weird feeling. To be nervous. She had never been nervous in her life. Actually, no, that's a lie. She had been nervous once before, but she buried that memory deep, deep, _deep_ down. And there was no way she was going to allow it to resurface. Especially not now.

"Hey Lori. What are you doing out here?" Lori turned abruptly on her heel. Her guard raised.

"Ben," Lori sighed as she took in the young king and all of his gear.

"The one and only," Ben proclaimed as he gave her one of his charming smiles. "So, what are you doing here?"

"I was looking for Scott," Lori explained. "Have you seen him around here by any chance?"

Ben took a minute to think. "No. He doesn't really hang around by the Tourney field. Only the twins."

"Oh."

"Sorry I can't be of more assistance."

Lori studied Ben for a minute. "That's okay. I'll find him. Thanks anyways."

"See you later, Lori." Ben waved as Lori turned to leave.

"Yeah, see you later."

After finding out that the Tourney field was a bust, Lori went to the only other place that she could think of: his dorm room.

Once she arrived, she knocked on his door, as gently as she could. Part of her was hoping that he wouldn't open the door. But, alas, he did.

"Lori? What are you doing here?" Scott questioned.

"I just... We..." Lori sighed as she ran a hand through her hair. "We need to talk."

"Do we now?"

"Yes. We do."

Scott stood to the side to allow Lori to enter.

"What do you want to talk about?" Scott asked as he closed the door.

"We need to talk about us," Lori replied as she sat down on one of the beds.

"Us?" He repeated as he sat on the bed opposite of her.

"Yeah, our relationship," Lori clarified as she looked down at her hands that were resting in her lap.

"What about it?" Scott asked slowly as he watched her carefully.

"You know what. It's not working. Not anymore. It hasn't been the same since..." Lori trailed off as she closed her eyes. She took a deep breath.

"Since what?"

"Nothing. Forget it," Lori quickly covered as she shook her head. "But, still, you have to admit it. Whatever we had in the past, is gone."

"You're right," Scott exhaled as Lori looked up at him. "What are we going to do about it?"

"You know I care about you, deeply. But, now, it's more as a brother than... than a boyfriend," Lori explained as her head fell back down.

"I know what you mean," Scott confessed. "I knew we weren't doing so well. I guess some relationships aren't meant to last forever."

"Tell me about it. We've been fighting since we left the Isle, and I can't even remember why."

"Neither do I," They shared a small chuckle.

"I know one relationship that may last forever," Lori added sheepishly. She looked through her lashes to see Scott's reaction.

"What do you mean?" Scott cocked his head to the side.

"I mean," Lori exhaled, "you and Amy would... be good... together."

Scott let out a noise that resembled a choke. "What?"

"Oh, come on Scott. I've known you since we were kids, and you've known her for even longer. I know how you think and I can read you like a book. Plus, I've seen the way you look at Amy. How well you two get along. How much you have in common. It's a match made in… well, Auradon," Lori teased as Scott blushed a little.

"But-" Scott began as Lori put up a hand to silence him.

"Don't worry about it. I can tell she likes you too. And before you ask me how I know – I see the way she looks at you too. I can tell she feels _something_ for you, but she just doesn't want to admit it."

Scott closed his eyes in thought.

"How can you be sure?"

"I can't," Lori admitted, but she didn't let Scott interject. "But _you_ can be sure."

"What do you mean?"

Lori rolled her eyes at her clueless ex-boyfriend. "Just go and ask her. It's that simply Scott."

"But-"

"No buts."

"What if-"

"No what ifs either. Come on Scott, what's really going on?"

"I'm afraid that she'll say no."

Lori let out a small laugh. Soon, she was gripping her side while she laughed uncontrollably.

"What? What is so funny? Do you find my pain amusing?" Scott questioned as he watched the raven haired girl in front of him.

Lori swatted away his questions as she calmed herself. "It's just… Scott, son of one of the greatest villains, is scared of being rejected by a girl." Lori burst into laughter again as Scott cracked a smile.

"Okay, I can see the humor in that. But, seriously, what if she says no?"

Lori rolled her eyes once more. "She won't say no Scott."

Scott opened his mouth to argue again, but Lori cut him off.

"If you are honest with her and are yourself, she _won't_ say no. Trust me."

"Okay, but I won't ask her just yet. I'll ask her when I'm ready."

"Whatever you say Romeo," Lori mocked as she stood.

"Yeah, well what about you and that blonde prince? Chris, was it?" Scott teased right back as Lori blushed a soft pink.

"What about him?" Lori questioned as she made her way to the door. Scott at her heels.

"You like him."

"I do not!" Lori countered as she opened the door.

"Lori, you said it yourself. We've known each other since childhood. I can tell what you're feeling. And I know when you're lying to me."

"Whatever," Lori huffed as she walked into the hallway.

"Goodbye Lori."

"Goodbye Scott."

Lori slowly walked down the hall after Scott closed his door. Auradon had definitely changed him for the better. She could tell. He has never been so light and happy before. Auradon was changing all of them.

* * *

Mal had been headed to her dorm after her little chat with Lori, but she deviated from her set path. She didn't feel like going back just yet. For some reason, she was starting to get a head ache. She made her way to the edge of the school grounds. She sat down at one of the benches and took a deep breath. It was quiet. The cool air made her shiver a bit, but it helped with the pain. She welcomed the cold. It was a nice change. It reminded her of the past. When things were simpler.

Her phone buzzed to life in her pocket. It was a text from Audrey.

 **A: Have you seen this?**

It was a link to some video. Mal clicked on it and immediately groaned. The video of her blowing up at Gaston Jr. in the library was already circulating around the school. Maybe even all of Auradon.

 **M: Thanks for sending this to me. Has Ben seen it yet?**

 **A: Probably. Most of the school has seen it already. I'm sorry Mal.**

 **M: It's okay Audrey. I know it's not your fault. It's mine.**

 **A: See you tomorrow?**

 **M: Sure.**

Mal slipped her phone back into her pocket. She sighed before placing her head in her hands. Her life was falling apart before her eyes. Everything that she had built in Auradon was crumbling.

' _Evil doesn't get happy endings,'_ a voice in her head was telling her. Was it right? No it couldn't be. She wasn't evil anymore. She had chosen good.

"Mal?" A voice called out softly. Ben. "Are you okay?"

"What do you think Ben?" Mal asked, not daring to lift her head.

"I don't know what to think anymore." He took a seat next to her.

"So, you've seen it," Mal concluded as she lifted her head to look at him. He simply nodded.

"Why… why were you yelling at him?"

"What do you think Ben?" Mal repeated as she leaned back.

"Because of me?" He asked quietly.

"Yeah."

"Thanks for standing up for me." Mal let out a short laugh. "Mal, I-"

"Ben, I know that you think yelling at someone and getting angry is never the answer. But… but you don't know him. You don't know me. Not the old me."

Ben finally looked over at his girlfriend. "Then help me to know. Help me to understand. Because ever since the new VKs have arrived, you've changed. You've grown more distant. More angry. I still don't know why. No one will tell me. Not you. Not Evie. Not Jay. Not Carlos."

Mal shook her head. "If you knew… you would never look at me the same way, or him. You see the good in everyone, Ben. You see the good in me. This would destroy all of that."

"Anything is better than this, than nothing. Mal, you're pushing me away and shutting me out. I can see that you're hurting, but you won't tell me why. I can't do anything to help you. It's torture."

"I never asked you to care about me, Ben. I don't deserve it." Everything else in her life was going wrong, so it was only a matter of time before this blew up in her face too.

"That's true, you never asked for my care, but you're going to get it whether you want it or not. Whether you think you deserve it or not. But you _do_ deserve it." Ben gently grabbed Mal's hand and held it in his own. "I love you, Mal."

"I love you too Ben." It was a reflex. She couldn't hurt him like that. She didn't want to admit it, but she _was_ going soft.

' _This boy is making you weak!'_ There was that voice again.

"Then why won't you tell me what's going on with you?"

It was all too frustrating. Either way, she knew she would lose a part of him, if not all of him. If she told him the truth, she knew it would let his beastly anger free, and that's not what he wanted. If she didn't tell him, then she would lose him. She would rather lose him than see him become something that he didn't want to be. That would be worse than not having him at all. Especially if it was her fault. She couldn't live with that guilt.

' _Or can you?'_

Mal removed her hand from his grasp. "I'm sorry Ben, but I can't. I'm not ready for that." Saying it out loud, to Ben of all people, would make it too real. She didn't want Ben to have to carry that burden around. She didn't want to relive any of it. Whether he understood that or not.

' _Embrace the pain. It's what makes you stronger.'_ She knew the voice was right, but not in the way that it had intended.

"What happened to no secrets between us?" The fuse has been lit. It was only a matter of time.

 _'Promises are just more rules and restrictions that need to be broken. He's trying to cage you, to stop you from reaching your true potential. Break him before he breaks you.'_ She couldn't do that. She would never do that. She cared too much about him to intentionally hurt him.

"Trust me Ben, this is much harder on me than it is on you. Some things are best left buried in the past."

"I don't believe that. Neither do you."

"How do know what I believe?" This whole situation was frustrating.

"Because I know _you_ Mal."

' _No he doesn't. He only knows this act that you have put on. He doesn't know the_ real _you. The evil you. Not yet anyway. But he will, soon. They all will.'_

She wanted nothing more than for that voice to shut up. To crawl back into whatever hell hole it came out of.

"Are you sure about that?" Was the voice right? Was she evil? But, she had chosen to be good. She had chosen Ben. That was what she wanted. That _is_ what she wanted.

' _Or is it?'_ Mal's eyes glowed a brilliant green without her consent. She felt the burn behind her eyes. She was glad that Ben couldn't see it. She could feel something bubbling beneath the surface. Something that she hadn't felt since she arrived in Auradon. Something she tried to suppress.

' _You can't suppress the real you Mal. You can't suppress the evil inside of you any longer!'_

"Of course, I'm sure Mal. You're my girlfriend."

All Mal wanted to do now was get that damn voice out of her head. To be normal again. What was normal? She couldn't even remember. She closed her eyes and squeezed them shut. She blocked out everything around her, even Ben. Slowly, but surely she could feel the burn leave. She could feel the glow disappearing as her eyes returned to their normal green.

"Mal?"

She opened her eyes.

"Mal? Are you okay? Did you hear what I said?"

Mal looked over at Ben. His brow was knitted together in worry.

"I'm fine. What did you say?" Her response was slow and drawn out.

"I asked you what you had in mind for our date. It's tomorrow." He wasn't convinced that she was okay, but he was trying to change the subject. In truth, she wasn't okay. But she would never admit that to him.

Right. She was supposed to pick what they were going to do for their date. Well, it was a hard thing to do that when she couldn't even think straight.

"Um… well…" She had to think of something and fast. "Why don't we have dinner with your parents?" Why the hell not?

"Seriously?" Ben questioned as he gave her an incredulous look.

"Yeah. I mean, it's bound to happen eventually. So, why not sooner than later." Mal shrugged as Ben smiled.

"Mal," Ben began as he hugged his purple haired girlfriend. "Mom and Dad will be so thrilled!" Mal plastered on a fake smile for his sake more than hers. Ben gave her a quick kiss before he stood. "I'm going to tell them right now. I'll see you later."

"Goodbye Ben." Ben made his way back to the school as Mal sighed.

' _Foolish girl! You'll never be happy here! With this life! With him!'_

"Stop. Get out of my head!"

 _'They'll never accept you. You'll never be like them!'_

"Shut up!"

' _You could be so much more. You could be brilliant! Only if you embrace your true evil potential!'_

"Get out!" Mal screeched as she covered her ears, not that it would help anything. Was she going crazy? Why now? After a year of living in Auradon, a whole year, why was this voice coming to her now? She could feel the burning behind her eyes again. Knew that they were about to glow. Why couldn't she control it? She held all of this power, apparently, yet she was powerless to stop it. The irony.

She wanted to scream. She wanted to shout. She wanted to light something on fire. Alas, she could do none of the above. She would draw too much attention. That was the last thing she wanted right now. The spotlight on her when she was struggling to control her power. They would send her back to the Isle for sure. That would crush her friends. Would crush Ben. She had to get this under control somehow.

' _Don't fight it. Embrace it.'_

The harder she fought to keep her power at bay, the more pain she received in turn.

' _Your fighting is fruitless. You'll see it my way, soon. For it has been written already. There is no escaping this.'_

The pain subsided. The burning fizzled out until there was nothing left. Mal panted. Relieved that it was over. But was it really over? Or was it just the beginning? She didn't know, and she didn't care at the moment.

She abruptly stood and quickly made her way to her dorm room. All she wanted right now was rest. Maybe she could sleep it off. But, she was unaware that someone had been watching her the whole time.

* * *

The two of them met in secret. Where there were no witnesses that would over hear their conversation.

"Did you do it?" He asked in a whisper as they hid in the shadows. He peered around the corner to make sure they were truly alone.

"Of course I did it. What do you think this is, amateur hour?" He had just returned from his mission. It was vital that he succeeded if their plan was to go off without a hitch.

"Okay, let me rephrase that. Did you do it right?"

Gaston III rolled his crystal blue eyes at his twin brother. They may be brothers and as thick as thieves, but they were still villains after all. Trust wasn't something that ran in abundance through their veins. Not like the Beast King that they despised so much. If anything, Ben had too much trust. It was all too easy for them to take advantage of it and break him.

"Of course I did it right. It went exactly as planned. She's struggling. Her inner dragon is trying to claw its way out. It's only a matter of time before it wins."

"Then, we get what we came for," Gaston Jr. smirked. "We get the wand and we rule Auradon."

"With Mal by our side," Gaston III added as he shared an evil laugh with his brother.

"Should we tell the cat?"

"Not just yet. I don't know if we can trust him right now. But we'll find out soon enough."

Ben was wrong. Sometimes, you just can't teach an old dog new tricks.

* * *

 **Hey guys and gals! How was that chapter? Did you all enjoy it?**

 **Thanks to everyone who reviewed, favorited, or followed. Thanks for just reading. It means a lot. Special thanks to pinksakura271 for allowing me to use her OC Amy and for all of her input.**

 **The next chapter should be out soon. Maybe later today, I don't know. But keep an eye out for that.**


	17. The Dinner Date

The next day, Mal was still struggling. Her head ache was worse than it had been yesterday.

"Mal, I know how much you like to sleep in, but this is ridiculous!" Evie called out from the bathroom. There was only 10 minutes until she and Mal were supposed to go down for breakfast and meet the rest of their group.

"E, not right now. I'm thinking about taking a sick day." As soon as she said it, she knew it was a mistake.

"What?" Evie came rushing out of the bathroom. "What's wrong? Is everything okay? Should I call Ben? Oh! You two have a date tonight! Are you going to cancel? What's wrong?" Everything came flying at Mal so quickly. She didn't have time to process. But she knew one thing for sure: she had to act as if everything was alright. Evie was one to worry. This was something that she couldn't tell anyone.

Mal slowly sat up in her bed. "You know what, forget I said anything. I'm fine, really." She reluctantly got out of her bed. She was hit with a sudden wave of dizziness; probably because she hasn't eaten anything in a little while. She wanted to fall over, but she didn't. She stayed strong even if it all was just an act for Evie's sake.

' _I told you that you were getting weaker. Auradon is slowly killing you and you are only just noticing it. Fight back.'_

So the voice was back as well. Mal chose to ignore it. There was no way that it was right. It was just playing games with her mind.

Every step Mal took felt like she was walking on hot coals. Or maybe shards of glass. Or a combination of the two. Either way, it was painful. Evie seemed to notice her masked pain.

"M, seriously. What's wrong? Are you okay?"

Mal gave her best smile, no matter how fake it was. "E, I told you, I'm perfectly fine." She wasn't. She wanted to scream. But she couldn't. She wouldn't. She hated lying to Evie, but she always wanted to fix everything. This was something that she had to do on her own. This was something that just couldn't be fixed.

Evie pursed her lips as she nodded. Mal took the gesture for what it was. Evie was skeptical. She wasn't buying the act.

"I'm fine." With that, Mal slipped into the bathroom and locked the door behind her.

"I'll lay out something for you to wear." Evie called as Mal leaned against the door.

"Thanks E. You can go down when you're finished. I'll meet you all there." Mal could tell that Evie was hesitating on the other side. Mulling over all of her options.

In the end, Evie sighed in defeat. "Alright. But I better see you there."

"You will." Another lie. She had no intention of going to breakfast. She didn't want to see anyone right now. And the sight of Gaston Jr. with Amy still made her sick to her stomach. She was just going to hide out until first period. Then she would go about her day as if nothing was wrong. Because nothing was wrong. She was fine. Everything was under control.

' _Are you sure everything is under control? Another broken promise to a loved one? Another lie? Try as you might, but you'll always be mommy's nasty little girl.'_

For the first time since Ben's coronation, Mal allowed herself to cry as she slid down to the floor. For the first time, she was clueless. She had no idea what was wrong with her or even how to fix it. She had one idea, but it was more like a break glass in case of an emergency type of solution. She was hoping that it wouldn't come down to that.

' _If it does, I doubt you'll be strong enough to do it.'_

She doubted it as well, but thankfully she didn't have to worry about that just yet. Hopefully, she wouldn't have to worry about it at all.

Her phone buzzed on the counter where she had left it charging last night. She didn't need to look at it to know who it was. It was Ben asking her if she was alright. Evie had made it down to the cafeteria already and told the others. Evie wasn't dumb. She knew there was a chance that they wouldn't see Mal at breakfast.

Mal didn't have the strength to answer Ben at the moment. She slowly got of the cool tile floor of the bathroom and attempted to stand. As soon as she was on her feet, she was struck with more pain and another wave of dizziness. She gripped the counter in an effort to keep herself upright. To keep herself steady.

' _You could relieve yourself of all the pain. All you have to do is let go.'_

It was a tempting offer, but Mal knew better. To let go would mean that she was giving up. To let go meant that she would lose everyone and everything that she cared about. She would not let that happen. Mal Bertha was not a quitter; she didn't give up that easily. If she was to go down, then she would go down fighting.

Eventually, Mal got ready. She applied minimal makeup. Her long purple hair was put up into a high pony tail. She put on the outfit that Evie had laid out for her: purple joggers, a black tank top, a purple jacket, and black sneakers. It was a comfortable outfit that showed enough without showing too much. Evie knew her all too well.

She tried to put in some effort. If she didn't try, the others would notice. She didn't need the extra attention right now.

She slipped out the door with her bag slung on her shoulder as the first bell rang. Classes would start in ten minutes. Her phone buzzed once again. Ben. Mal was surprised that she hadn't seen any of her friends yet. Obviously, she had missed breakfast. Obviously, Ben was worried. Yet, they were nowhere to be seen.

' _Maybe he no longer cares about you. You know, your mother found her true potential after her heart was broken by a king. Maybe history is repeating itself.'_

'No.' Mal thought to herself as she made her way to her first class: History of Auradon. 'I'm imagining things.'

' _Are you?'_

Mal faltered as she reached the stairs. Yet another dizzy spell. She almost fell down the stairs. If it weren't for the strong pair of hands that gripped her shoulders, then she would have.

"Mal? Are you alright?"

Ben.

"Yeah, perfectly fine," Mal responded as she put on a fake smile.

' _Liar.'_

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. Why do you ask?" Mal questioned as she moved out of his grasp.

Ben gave her a weird look, but the worry in his eyes out weighed it. "You seem distracted and you nearly fell down the stairs. I'm worried about you. When was the last time you had something to eat?"

"I had strawberries yesterday," Mal answered simply as she carefully, and slowly, descended the stairs. Ben was right behind her.

"That's it? You haven't had an actual meal?"

Ben's worrying was only giving her a bigger headache. Yeah, she loved him, but he worried too much about her.

"Ben," Mal sighed as she reached the bottom of the stairs. "I'm fine. Truly. Okay? I'll see you later." She gave him a quick kiss on his cheek before disappearing into the crowd of students trying to get to their first class of the day. She didn't give him a chance to argue because she knew that he was right. She wasn't okay.

* * *

The day dragged on slower than Mal would have liked. Her headache didn't subside. She felt as though her brain was on fire. Like her brain was being zapped.

She trudged back to her dorm, wanting nothing more than to just crawl back into bed. Tomorrow was Saturday, so she could sleep in.

As she opened the door, she was greeted with the sight of Evie, Audrey, Jane, and Lonnie standing before her. She contemplated whether or not she could escape whatever was about to come. Finally, she sighed, deciding that it would be worse if she left.

Instead, she asked, "What's going on?" Honestly, she was a little afraid of the answer.

"Isn't it obvious?" Audrey asked as Mal entered her room. She placed her bag on her bed and leaned against the bed post.

"If it was, then I wouldn't have asked."

"We're here to help prepare you for your big dinner tonight!" Lonnie squealed as she bounced in place a little. She was excitable.

"Right. That's tonight," Mal said as she sat down on her bed. There go her plans of doing nothing. It would have been great.

"You didn't forget, did you?" Jane asked in that quiet voice of hers.

"Of course not."

"Mal, are you alright?" Audrey asked as she studied her purple haired friend. "You seem a little out of it."

"I'm fine!" Mal yelled as she abruptly stood. Her eyes glowed their brilliant green. She was sick and tired of everyone asking her is she was alright. Audrey drew back, terrified. Jane was shaking slightly.

"Mal!" Evie chastised as Mal fell back down. Her eyes returned to their original green as her temper dissipated.

"Sorry, Audrey. I didn't mean for it to come out like that," Mal apologized as Audrey shook her head.

' _Hah! You shouldn't be sorry. That prissy princess deserved to be put in her place.'_

"No, it's alright. When I went to have dinner with King Adam and Queen Belle for the first time I was beyond nervous too," Audrey offered.

"Yeah, sure. Nerves." It wasn't nerves. It was her. She was like a ticking time bomb. Waiting to blow up. She couldn't ruin this. She couldn't. She would never forgive herself. Neither would Ben. Actually, knowing Ben, he would forgive her almost immediately.

"I have the perfect outfit for tonight!" Evie sang as she moved towards her own closet. "I didn't think I would need it so soon, though."

She rifled through before she returned with one of her newer creations.

"Evie it's perfect!" Audrey complimented as Evie held it up for everyone to see.

It was a beautiful lilac dress. The front was shorter than the back. In the front, it stopped at her knees. In the back, it trailed down to the floor. It had long off the shoulder sleeves.

"I have the perfect shoes for it!" Lonnie chirped. "I'll be right back." Lonnie ran out of the room and towards her own.

Evie handed the dress over to Mal and shoved the purple haired girl into the bathroom. Mal slowly put it on. It was a beautiful dress, Mal had to admit that much. When she exited the bathroom, Lonnie was back, and she was holding a pair of silver strappy heels.

"You look beautiful, Mal," Lonnie complimented as she held out the shoes for Mal. Mal eyed them carefully, knowing that she would never be able to walk in them in her condition. She took them anyway.

"Thanks," She managed to get out. She sat back on her bed and put the shoes on. When she was finished, Evie pulled her towards the mirror and sat her down in a chair. Audrey did her hair while Evie re-did her makeup. Something more for going out on a date, yet still appropriate for dinner with your boyfriend's parents who happen to be royalty. By the end, her purple hair was curled into beachy waves. Evie had applied a plum shadow to enhance Mal's bright green eyes. A pink gloss was added to her full lips.

"You're ready," Evie stated proudly as she set down her blush brush.

"You sure I won't scare them away?" Mal joked as she looked at her reflection. She didn't look half bad.

"Impossible," Audrey added as she unplugged her curling iron.

"You'll knock them dead," Jane complimented as Mal discretely winced. Bad choice of words.

' _That's the goal. Isn't it? The King shall fall tonight.'_

There was a knock at the door. Was Ben here already?

"Coming!" Evie called as she moved to answer the door. Mal watched through the mirror. "Amy! So nice to see you. What brings you to our neck of the hallway?"

"Audrey's roommate told me I could find her here." Evie stepped aside so Amy could enter.

"Right. We have a check in today. I'll just gather my things and then we can head out," Audrey stated as she started to pack her stuff. Amy nodded as she scanned the room. Her eyes landed on Mal.

"Going somewhere?" Amy asked her twin. Mal didn't move.

"I have a date with Ben tonight," Mal responded as she watched her sister's reflection. Amy gave another nod as Audrey emerged from the bathroom, her full bag in hand.

"Okay, I'm ready to go. Good luck tonight Mal." Audrey headed towards the door as Mal turned around in her seat.

"Thanks for your help Audrey."

"Any time." Audrey exited the room, Amy right behind her.

"You look beautiful," Amy said as Mal gave her a small smile.

"Thanks Cherry Blossom." With that, Amy left as well and Evie closed the door behind her.

"That went well," Evie commented as she sat down on her bed.

"Yeah," Mal said as she turned back around. She looked down at her hands as she lost herself in her thoughts. She was getting weaker. As much as she hated to admit it, the damn voice was getting stronger. It was only a matter of time before it won. She knew what she had to do, but she didn't want to do it. She knew that Ben wouldn't like it either.

"Mal. Did you hear me? Mal?"

"Sorry Evie. I was just thinking about something. What did you say?"

"I said Ben is here." Mal looked up at the mirror. Sure enough, Ben was standing in the doorway with a bouquet of flowers. Now or never.

Mal put on a smile as she stood. Evie took the flowers and went to find a vase. Mal carefully made her way over to Ben.

"Hey Benny-Boo," Mal teased as Ben gave her a hug.

"You look stunning. Mom and Dad are going to love you even more than they already do," Ben assured as he offered his arm. Mal gently looped her arm through his.

"Don't keep her out too late," Jane teased.

"If you hurt our girl, I will find you, and I will kill you. I don't care if you're the King of Auradon," Lonnie said seriously. The small group of friends burst out into laughter.

"You don't have to worry about anything," Ben guaranteed as he led Mal into the hallway and down to the entrance of the school. There was a limo waiting for them.

"Classy ride," Mal commented as Ben held the door open for her.

"You know it."

* * *

The ride to Castle Beast was pretty much silent. Mal didn't mind. It gave her more time to think about what she was going to do. What she had to do. It wasn't worst case scenario, but it wasn't the best either. There was no solution to this problem that would end in everyone's happiness. It wasn't possible.

The car stopped outside of the castle much sooner than Mal would have liked. There was no going back now.

She had been to the castle so many times. She had seen and talked to Ben's parents so many times. So why was she so nervous?

' _Because you know you don't belong here. You're not one of those pink princesses. You're the daughter of Maleficent.'_

Mal tried to shake the voice out of her head, but it only made her dizzy.

"You ready?" Ben asked as he helped her out of the limo.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Mal responded as she gave Ben the tiniest of smiles. He returned it with one of his goofy grins. It made her heart swell.

Mal could see Belle and Adam standing at the top of the steps, waiting for them. It reminded her of Ben's coronation.

' _Foreshadowing. Betray them once, betray them again. It's in your DNA.'_

Mal held her breath as they reached the top.

"Hi Mom. Hi Dad," Ben greeted his parents as they hugged him in turn.

"Your Majesties." Mal curtsied to be respectful.

"Oh please Mal. You know you don't have to be so formal with us. You're part of the family," Belle stated as she and Adam led their group of four to the dining room.

"Of course, Belle." Mal offered a smile.

"You look lovely, Mal," Adam complimented.

"Thank you."

They all sat down at the small table that was replacing the usually longer table for the night.

"We hope everything will be to your liking Mal. Ben didn't say if you were allergic to anything or not," Adam spoke as silver platters were set down in front of each of them.

"Just iron," Mal said as she took in the sight of the food in front of her.

"Iron? As in the metal?" Belle asked.

"Yeah. Fairies of my kind are burned by iron," Mal elaborated as Belle nodded her understanding.

"That's good to know."

"So, Mal, how are you liking Auradon?" Adam questioned as everyone started to eat. Everyone except Mal. She wasn't particularly hungry.

"It's great," She responded as she picked up her fork. She didn't want to be rude. She tried some of the food. It wasn't half bad.

"How are the others?" Belle inquired.

"They're good. Happy."

"What do you think of the new students?" Adam quizzed. The question she had been dreading.

' _He just opened a can of worms. Are you going to lie to them too?'_

"They're alright, for the most part."

"What do you mean?" Belle inquired as Mal sighed.

"I mean, four out of six of them are okay."

"Six?" Adam repeated as he looked to Ben. Mal did the same.

"You haven't told them yet?"

"I was planning on it. At the next council meeting," Ben explained quietly.

"Six?" Adam repeated again. "You told us you were bringing five over from the Isle."

"Yes. _I_ did. One of them somehow snuck into the limo. I don't know exactly how she did it. But now there's six of them."

"Who is she?"

"Freddie. Daughter of Dr. Facilier," Mal offered as she placed her fork down.

"Do you plan on keeping her here?" Belle asked as she watched her son. Mal watched him as well.

"Yes, I do."

"Okay. Well, what's wrong with these other two?" Adam directed the question towards Mal. She leaned back in her seat.

' _Go ahead. Tell them how messed up you are. I'm sure they'll love it.'_

Now or never. "The twins. They're as bad as you can get on the Isle. A completely different kind of evil than my mother."

"The twins?" Belle was confused. Mal raised her eyebrows as she looked in Ben's direction.

"How much did you tell them?"

"Apparently not enough," Ben replied as he looked down sheepishly.

"The twin sons of Gaston: Gaston Jr. and Gaston III," Mal elaborated as Belle choked on her water.

"Gaston had twins?"

"Not just twins. There's Gaston Jr., Gaston III, Gabe, and Gil. The twins are his pride and joy. He couldn't care less about the other two."

"Why?" Adam was curious about his former enemy.

"For starters, Gabe is a girl. We like to call her Gabby. Spitting image of her father. Probably just as strong as her brothers, smarter than them too, and great with a bow. But that doesn't matter to Gaston. She's a female. And women should be seen and not heard, according to Gaston at least. Gil looks nothing like his father. He looks more like his mother, whoever she may be. Just as strong as his brothers. But he doesn't share their ideals. So he left and joined another crew. Hasn't spoken to his father in years."

"Wow," Belle breathed. "That sounds like the Gaston I remember. You sure do know a lot about them."

"I know a lot about everyone," Mal shrugged. "To survive on the Isle, you need to know everyone's weaknesses, and how to exploit them."

"What about the twins?" Adam questioned, going back to the previous topic.

"What about them?" Mal glanced in the former King's direction.

"Why don't you like them? What did they do to you?"

"Dad," Ben warned.

"It's fine Ben. The truth is bound to come out sooner or later."

"The truth?"

"Gaston Jr. and I… have a history together." Mal sighed.

"What kind of a history?" Ben asked, fearing the answer.

"We dated for a bit." It was Ben's turn to choke. "We were on the Isle, so it was more of a power move than anything."

"What do you mean a power move?" Belle inquired.

"Well, on the Isle, my mother and I were the closest thing you could get to royalty. Gaston and his sons were always hungry for power… among other things. Get close to me or my mother, get close to power. Gaston Jr. was constantly asking me out. I constantly rejected him."

"What changed your mind?" Adam questioned. "His charm?"

Mal laughed. "That boy has no charm. Evie convinced me to go out with him. She was new to our little group, so Gaston III asked her out. She had this crazy idea of us going out on double dates and all. It was a stupid thought, but I didn't want to shatter her dreams. So I went along with it."

"How did he hurt you?" Ben asked as he took Mal's hand in his. Mal looked Belle in the eyes. Belle knew what was about to come.

"One night, while my mother was out, Gaston Jr. snuck into my room. Let's just say he has a strong grip. He was so used to girls giving him what he wanted, he lost it when I wouldn't." She never looked away from Belle. "He pulled out a gun and tried to shoot me. I just about dodged the shot, but it broke my window. He got angry, fired again. I didn't dodge it in time. It hit me in the chest and I fell out the window. I fell three stories. He killed me."

"What do you mean he killed you?" Ben questioned. He was confused.

"Exactly what I said. He killed me."

"But-"

"The barrier stops villains from killing each other. If they die of unnatural causes, like a gunshot wound, they are revived," Adam interjected.

"I'm so sorry Mal," Belle apologized. She looked as though she were about to cry.

' _Pity. You don't need their pity. You need their power. Now's your chance to make them pay for putting you on that cursed island.'_

"It's okay Belle."

"What happened next?" Ben asked.

"Jay, Evie, and Carlos found me. Evie had gone through something similar, but not as worse. She came out unscathed. When she did, she got the boys and they came for me. If it weren't for them, I think I would have frozen to death. After that, Jay never left my side. Carlos never left Evie's. I think that was the first time I was truly afraid of someone other than my mother."

' _Weak.'_

Mal felt the burning behind her eyes. She quickly closed them. She tried to fight it, but she couldn't. Her energy was practically nonexistent. She stood abruptly.

"Mal?" Ben asked as she released his hand.

Mal opened her eyes. She felt a pang in her chest. This ticking time bomb was ready to explode. She gasped in pain.

"Mal?" Belle and Adam asked in worry as they stood.

"I'm fine," Mal croaked out as she backed away from the table. "Just fine. I should really go." Mal nearly ran out of that room. She would have gone faster if it weren't for the stupid heals and the stupid dizzy spells. She heard Ben running after her. She was halfway down the hallway when Ben called out to her.

"Mal! Where are you going?"

"I'm sorry Ben, but I can't do this. Not anymore."

"What? Dinner?"

' _Now or never.'_

"No, Ben. Not dinner. Us. I can't do us anymore."

"What? Mal, let's talk about this," Ben tried to reason with her.

"I'm sorry, Ben. I don't want to hurt you anymore."

"Hurt me?"

"Bye Ben. I love you."

' _I win. I told you. Evil never gets a happy ending.'_

She lost. That damn voice in her head won after all. She wasn't strong enough. She was weak.

"Mal!"

She felt her eyes glow a bright green. A smirk formed on her lips as she waved her hand, engulfing herself in purple smoke. When it cleared, she was gone.

Ben stumbled back into the dining room. His parents were still standing. Waiting for answers.

"Ben, what happened?"

"Where's Mal?"

"I think… I think we just broke up." Ben fell into the nearest seat.

* * *

Mal looked around. She was back at school.

' _Congrats. You just broke the king.'_

Mal's smirk lingered as she headed inside. She had one thing on her mind now.

' _Get the wand. Take over Auradon. Make them pay.'_

Her revenge was in reach. Now, it was only a matter of time.

* * *

 **Hey guys and gals! Mal is evil now?! Was that a heavy chapter or what? I hope you all enjoyed it.**

 **Thanks to everyone who followed, favorited, or reviewed. Thanks for just reading. Special thanks to pinksakura271 for allowing me to use her OC Amy and for helping me out.**

 **Two chapters in one day! I was originally planning on having a super mega chapter and combining 16 and 17, but I thought it would be better if they were separate.**

 **Feel free to l** **et me know what you are thinking right now. See you in the next chapter!**


	18. Mal?

The first thing Mal did was head for the boys' room. She still had plenty of time until curfew, so she that knew they would be waiting for her. She walked as fast as she could in Lonnie's heels. It was harder than she originally thought it would be. Rushing in a pair of heels. Her feet were throbbing. She didn't know how everyone else managed to do it all the time. She would have payed someone a million dollars just for a pair of flats in that moment.

As soon as she reached the door, she knocked and then barged right in. She didn't wait for anyone to open it for her. Why would she? She closed the door behind her. Mal rolled her eyes as soon as she saw the state of the room.

"Do you boys have to live in filth? We aren't on the Isle anymore."

Gaston Jr. smirked. "We can live however we want to live. If we choose to live in filth, then we should be able to live in filth. You look great by the way." Mal rolled her eyes once more.

"Whatever. So, what is your plan for stealing Fairy Godmother's wand?" Mal got right to the point. She didn't want to have to wait any longer. Gaston Jr. and Gaston III shared a look and Mal instantly knew what it meant. "You don't have a plan yet. Do you?" Mal's anger spiked as her eye's glowed a bright green. She didn't understand how they didn't have a plan yet. Her first night in Auradon she already had a plan. A plan that would have worked if it weren't for that stupid force field. Once that had failed. She quickly came up with a new plan. It may have taken a little longer to execute, but at least she had a plan.

She closed her eyes as she took a deep breath. She wouldn't be helping anyone if she was angry.

"Alright," Mal sighed. "The royal family is hosting a gala next week to celebrate the founding of Auradon. Fairy Godmother will be there with her wand. And the whole school in invited, so we will be there as well. Giving us the perfect opportunity to steal the wand and imprison the royals and anyone else who gets in the way." It was a risky plan. Trying to steal the wand in front of basically all of Auradon. But it was the only plan that they had.

"Right. Sounds great to me," Gaston III said lazily as he moved to lay down in his bed.

"Where's Scott?" Mal asked as she noticed the absence of their feline roommate.

Gaston Jr. shrugged. "Said something about going for a walk around the school. Had to clear his head or something. And before you ask, he's going to help us steal the wand. Said so himself."

"Fine. But keep a close eye on him. I don't fully trust him just yet," Mal instructed as she turned to leave. "Oh, and one last thing." The twins looked over at Mal. "Keep your hands off my sister and Evie." The twins nodded, not wanting to upset the dragoness.

The twins both muttered some form of agreement as Mal opened the door and waltzed through it. She didn't bother closing the door. They could do that themselves.

Mal made her way back to her dorm relatively quickly. She was in no mood to run into anyone that she knew. When she reached her dorm, she was annoyed to find that Evie was sat at her desk, working on a new creation. Evie turned to face Mal as she entered before glancing at her phone.

"You're back early. Really early. Is everything okay?" Just like Evie to be worried.

"Everything is perfectly fine," Mal replied as she kicked off the heels. She grabbed a pair of pajamas and headed towards the bathroom.

"So, how was the dinner?" Evie asked as Mal reached the bathroom door.

Mal paused before going in. "Enlightening." She gave a small smirk before disappearing into the adjoined room and locking the door behind her.

Evie huffed as she continued to sew. Mal was acting weird and she didn't know why. And it wasn't like Mal would just come right out and say it. She considered calling Ben, but thought better of it. It was getting late and she was sure that he probably had some king stuff to take care of.

Soon after, Mal came out of the bathroom and hopped into bed without another word. That wasn't like Mal at all. Even if she didn't want to talk about her date with Ben, she would have asked Evie what she was working on. Or at least said goodnight. Evie let out a frustrated sigh. She wanted to know what was wrong with her best friend. Mal had a complete change of attitude from earlier. She had been quiet, for lack of a better word, and in pain. She had been pushing everyone away. But more so now. She wouldn't even talk to Evie now.

* * *

The next day wasn't much better. Evie had awoken before Mal, as always. She had gotten dressed and had done her makeup. She moved to wake Mal who only groaned in protest. Evie shrugged as she left Mal to her sleep. She started to do her hair. She was halfway done when Mal had finally decided to wake up. Without so much as a glance in Evie's direction, Mal slipped into the bathroom. Evie, being the good friend that she was, picked out Mal's outfit. It was a black skater dress and Mal's favorite purple jacket with the addition of her purple boots. She decided to ignore the weird behavior of the purple haired girl for now.

"Mal, I picked out an outfit for you. It's laying on your bed when you're ready for it." There was no response from her roommate. With a sigh, Evie picked up her bag and books and headed for the door. "We all hope to see you at breakfast. Please come this time." Again, no response. Evie let out another sigh as she walked into the hallway and locked the door behind her. Evie headed down to the cafeteria to grab her usual breakfast, cereal and an apple. She made her way to the picnic table that she shared with her friends out on the yard. All her friends were already there, and she greeted them as she sat down.

"No Mal today?" Lonnie asked.

"We'll see," Evie breathed out as she glanced in Ben's direction. He seemed upset about something. He seemed completely opposite to Mal, which was odd. It only made Evie more confused about what happened last night during their dinner date.

Evie was about to aske Ben what was going on when Jane spoke up. "Here come the others." Sure enough, Amy, Lori, and Freddie came over and sat down at the table. The boys had sat down at the table next to theirs.

"Where's Mal?" Freddie asked as she took a bite of her pancake.

"She might not be…" Evie started again, but Lori interrupted.

"There she is," Lori stated as her jaw dropped just a bit.

"Wow, who knew Mal had such a body," Freddie joked as Amy playfully elbowed her friend.

Confused, Evie turned to see what the girls were talking about. Low and behold, there was Mal, walking across the lawn. But she wasn't wearing the outfit that Evie had laid out for her. She was wearing black leather pants, a purple tank top with a plunging neckline, a black leather jacket, and a pair of purple heeled boots.

"What the hell is she wearing?" Evie muttered under her breath. It wasn't Mal's style at all. And it wasn't too Auradon friendly either. She was going to ask the purple haired teen as she drew nearer, but those plans were dashed when Mal walked past their group and headed straight for the boys table. She didn't even look at the people that she used to call her friends as she sat right next to Gaston Jr. "Okay, there is something seriously wrong with her." Evie said it a little louder this time, so the whole group had heard her.

"What the hell happened on your date Ben?" Audrey asked as Ben looked up for the first time.

"Honestly, I don't really know what happened," Ben confessed as he sighed.

"What does that mean?" Jay asked.

"We were just talking with my parents. Mal decided to reveal... some pieces of her past. Then she bolted. I followed her into the hallway. That's when she broke up with me. Then she disappeared in a puff of purple smoke. I don't know where she went after that."

"Why would she break up with you? I thought she loved you," Lonnie voiced as Ben looked back down at the table.

"Yeah, I thought that too. But she said something about not hurting me anymore. I don't know." Ben slowly stood from the table and spared a glance in Mal's direction. It only made him more upset. "I think I'll go. I have a meeting to get to anyway."

"We're going to figure this out, Ben. We're going to get our Mal back," Carlos promised as Ben simply nodded. He headed off back towards the school, keeping his head low. "How are we going to figure this out?" Carlos asked when he was sure that Ben wouldn't overhear.

"They're after the wand," Lori stated seriously as she looked over at Jane.

"The wand? As in my mother's wand?" Jane questioned.

"Yeah. The villains are still after it. My father told us to get it before we left. And to not be disappointments like you guys were," Freddie elaborated. "We want no part in the boys' plan. Not that they had one to begin with."

"But with Mal's help, they surely have a plan now," Amy said as she glanced back at her sister.

"Mal's not stupid. She has probably come up with a fool proof plan to get the wand that not even those baboons could mess up. And she's powerful too. I don't know how were going to stop her," Jay said.

"What I want to know is why the hell Mal is trying to help _the twins_ steal _Fairy Godmother's wand_ ," Evie nearly yelled. "It's not like her at all! She can't stand the twins and she chose to be good. So why is she helping dumb and dumber steal the wand?!"

"Evie, please calm down. We can't help Mal if we're too angry to think clearly," Doug pleaded as he gently rubbed her arm.

Evie took a few calming breaths. "Okay. I think I'm good now."

"Amy, why don't you have a little chat with Scott. Find out what he knows," Lori suggested as Amy looked over at her.

"Why don't you do it? He is your boyfriend after all," Amy countered.

"No, he's not."

"What?"

"I said, he's not my boyfriend anymore. We agreed that it was best if we just stayed friends," Lori explained.

"Okay," Amy stated simply. After that, the topic of conversation shifted from Mal, and moved towards other subjects.

* * *

As the first bell rang, Amy saw this as her chance to talk to Scotty. Mal had gone off to her first class, and the twins had left as well. Scott was on his own. After saying a quick goodbye to everyone, Amy made her way over to Scotty.

"Hey stranger," Scotty called out when he noticed Amy making her way over towards him.

"Hey Scotty," Amy greeted as they slowly walked back towards the school.

"You're here to ask me about Mal, aren't you?" He asked.

"Is it that obvious?"

"Well, when someone starts acting completely out of the ordinary, I would expect a few questions to be asked."

"Right. So, do you know what happened to her?"

"Unfortunately, no I don't. I was just as surprised to see her this morning as I'm sure you and the others were. But I have a feeling the twins know exactly what's going on," Scotty replied.

"Oh. Well, we know that she's helping you steal the wand. Do you know her plan?" Amy quizzed as they neared the building.

"No, not yet. I guess they came up with the plan while I was out last night. They're going to tell me later tonight," Scotty explained as they reached the doors that would lead into the semi crowded hallway.

Amy opened her mouth to speak, but Scotty cut her off. "When I know more, you'll be the first to find out. I promise." With that, he slipped inside and disappeared within the crowd.

Amy lingered outside for a moment. She thought about everything that was happening. She had to push aside her problems with Mal so she could save her twin sister from whatever was going on with her.

* * *

 **Hey guys and gals! I'm so sorry for the delay. I've had a busy few weeks. There were midterms, then Christmas came directly afterwards, and I'm still recovering from a loss in the family. Sorry that the chapter is shorter than usual. I know its not my best, but inspiration was running a little low. I hope you enjoy it anyway.**

 **Thanks to everyone who reviewed, followed, or favorited. Thanks for simply reading. It means a lot. A special thanks to pinksakura271 for allowing me to use her OC Amy and for helping me with a few ideas.**


	19. Traitor

The day passed by too quickly. Soon, nightfall was approaching, and the moon was rising. Scott gulped as he made his way back to his dorm that he shared with the twins. He had been putting off going back because he knew that Mal and the other boys would be waiting for him.

To be honest, he feared this new Mal. She didn't seem like her normal self. She was ruder and crueler. Her eyes were always glowing brightly with mischief. The smile that she usually wore had faded from her face. In its place, a smirk grew. And he was pretty sure that she had dumped Ben. That set off alarms in his head. According to what other people had said, Mal and Ben loved each other. They said it was true love. She was more determined to do this evil deed than he had ever seen before. Whatever had happened to Mal only deterred him away from his original desire to steal the wand for his father. Maybe Lori had been right all along. Maybe he could start over in Auradon, away from his father. Maybe he could actually be happy.

Scott sighed as he reached the door to his room. There was no turning back now. As he moved to insert his key into the lock, the door was flung open.

"There you are. Took you long enough," Mal growled out as she rolled her eyes.

"How did you-" Scott had begun to ask as Mal headed back into the room. "Never mind. What is it?"

"We need to catch up on our plan," Gaston III called out lazily from his bed as Mal glared at him. "Fine. _Mal's_ plan."

"Okay, so tell me about it," Scott stated as he moved to sit down at the round table.

"The royal family is hosting a part to celebrate the anniversary of Auradon. As tradition, Fairy Godmother will be there with her wand," Mal explained as she stood across from Scott. She passed a floor plan his way. He glanced over it, immediately noticing that it was for the ballroom of Auradon Castle. "Ben and his parents will be up on the stage during most of the party. That's where the thrones are. Fairy Godmother will be standing off to the side. Everyone else will be on the floor. From their place, the royal family will be able to see everything that we do. We need a distraction, so we can grab the wand." Mal looked around at the rest of her group. No one seemed to have any suggestions. She let out an aggravated sigh. Must she do everything?

"Why don't we use the living statue spell that Maleficent used at Ben's coronation?" Scott suggested as Mal tilted her head to the side to think.

"I doubt it would work. Fairy Godmother probably has precautions in place after what happened. She's always prepared. Besides, I'm not strong enough to cast that big of a spell for the time that we will need just yet. I would need more time to master it. Maybe a few months or so. But we don't have that kind of time. The party is next week."

Scott nodded his understanding. "Okay, so what do we do then?"

"How about a sleeping curse?" Gaston Jr. called out from the couch as he surfed through television channels looking for something to watch. Mal looked his way with a slightly impressed look upon her face.

"That's not a horrible idea," Mal commented as she flipped through her spell book. Gaston Jr. flashed her a smile. She was too busy to even notice it.

"Probably the smartest thing that's ever come out of his mouth," Scott muttered as Gaston Jr.'s smile turned to a scowl. He grumpily turned back around and slumped back into the couch.

"Ah, here's something," Mal proclaimed as she read over the page. "A spell that will temporarily put my enemy off to sleep." She had used something similar on the guard of the museum when she, Evie, Jay, and Carlos had tried to steal the wand that first night. But, this spell was meant for a larger audience, and it didn't require her mother's spinning wheel.

"Great. So, are we done here?" Scott asked as he stood up.

Mal cocked her head to the side. "Why?"

"I have somewhere I need to be," Scott replied simply as he shrugged.

"But you just got back, and this is _your_ room," Mal's eyes narrowed as she questioned the son of Scar.

"I just… have to meet up with Doug is all." His eyes darted to the side before refocusing on the purple haired girl in front of him. "We had to reschedule our little meeting or whatever. Mind if I head out for a bit?" It was a lie, but he tried not to show it.

"Fine. Do whatever you'd like," Mal sighed as she rolled up the blueprints.

"I'll see you later then," Scott slipped out of the room and headed down a couple of hallways. He made his way towards the girls' dorms before stopping in front of the familiar door. He knocked a few times before anyone answered.

"Yes?"

"I promised that I would tell you what they're planning. So, here I am."

* * *

Mal never liked being lied to. And she could sniff out a liar in a heartbeat. One of the many things that she had learned from growing up on the Isle. That's why she immediately knew that Scott wasn't going to see Doug like he had said. One of the many tells that someone is lying is when their eyes stray from yours. Scott had glanced to the side for a moment. That one moment of weakness had told her everything that she had needed to know. She couldn't trust him.

As he slipped out the door, Mal waited a few minutes before attempting to follow him. No one on her team was going to lie to her and get away with it. She stuck to the shadows, which was harder than it sounds. Since Auradon has so much light. She carefully followed Scott as he made his way further and further from Doug's room and closer towards the girls' dorms. For a minute, Mal thought he was going to see Lori. That theory had been dashed when he made a left instead of the right that would have taken him to her.

If he wasn't going to see Lori, then where the hell was he going?

He soon stopped outside one of the doors, and Mal immediately recognized the number. Why was he going to see her?

He knocked.

"Yes?" She answered as the door opened.

"I promised that I would tell you what they're planning. So, here I am."

So, he _was_ a traitor. Mal growled lowly, so they wouldn't hear her. They both has extremely good hearing, so she had to remain as quiet as possible as she listened to the rest of their conversation.

* * *

"What should I do, Freddie? I mean, he and Lori aren't together anymore, so…"

"Look, Pink Thorn, I think you should just talk to him. Find out what he thinks. And stop worrying so much! It can't be healthy."

Amy was about to respond when she heard a knock at the door. She glanced at Freddie, who only shrugged in response. Sighing, Amy stood as she made her way to answer it.

"Yes?"

"I promised that I would tell you what they're planning. So, here I am."

"Scotty? Come in, quickly. Did anyone follow you?" Amy moved to the side as Scotty entered the room. She quickly scanned the hallway before closing the door.

"I don't think so. I left Mal and the twins back in our room. She seemed to be okay with it."

"What did you tell her?" Freddie asked curiously. Not many people could successfully fool Mal.

Scotty shrugged. "I just told her that I was going to see Doug."

"So, what are they planning?" Amy asked impatiently as she sat back down on her bed.

"They're planning to grab the wand at the anniversary party," Scotty revealed as he sat at their small white desk.

"How? They'll be so many people there. Not to mention all the guards. And after Mal's breakup with Ben, and that little scene at lunch, I doubt she'll be very welcome near the wand," Freddie voiced as she leaned against Amy's bed post.

"Mal's going to put everyone under a sleeping curse," Scotty explained as Amy's eyes widened.

"A sleeping curse?!" She exclaimed. "But-"

"It's not permanent," Scotty cut her off. Amy seemed to relax a little.

"What are we going to do to stop her?" Freddie asked as she looked between Scotty and Amy.

"We have to tell King Ben and Fairy Godmother what's going to happen. They have to be able to do _something_ about this," Scotty suggested as Amy thought about it.

"But what if they send her back to the Isle? Or worse?" Amy questioned.

"Don't worry about it Amy. We won't let them hurt Mal. We have to fix her first. Besides, this is King Ben and Fairy Godmother we're talking about. They both love Mal and they both believe in redemption, or whatever," Scotty assured as he gave Amy a reassuring look. She nodded as Freddie placed a hand on her shoulder. She didn't want any harm to come to her sister.

* * *

Mal remained in her place at the other side of the door as she listened to the trio brainstorming ways to stop her. To fix her. She quietly scoffed to herself. She didn't need to be fixed. She was perfectly fine.

' _No, you're not fine._ _They're right and you know it. This isn't you. You're not evil.'_

She immediately thought of Ben, and their first date at the Enchanted Lake. She felt a swell in her heart as her eyes dimmed a little.

Mal shook her head to rid herself of these thoughts. She rolled her eyes as they brightened once more. The 'good' part of her was trying to get her to change her mind. Well, it wasn't going to work. She was determined to get this wand. She wanted to make Auradon pay for trapping her on that damn island for her whole life. She wanted to make them pay for thinking that they were better than her, because they weren't. And, more than anything, she wanted them to pay for making her weak and soft and... kindhearted. Just thinking about that word made her scowl.

Once Mal had determined that she had heard enough, she quietly made her way back to the boys' dorm. She flung open the door, only to find the twins right where she had left them. She rolled her glowing green eyes once again.

"Boys."

"What is it?" Gaston III asked as he glanced in her direction.

"We need a new plan to steal the wand." No one was going to get in her way. Nothing was going to stop her. Not this time.

* * *

 **Hey guys and gals! Did you enjoy that chapter? Sorry it took so long to update. School has been mega crazy with the work load. And I was traveling last week. And there were a couple losses in the family. Overall, life happened.**

 **Anyways, thanks to all of you who reviewed, followed, or favorited. Thanks for simply reading because it means so much to me. You have no idea. Special thanks to pinksakura271 for allowing me to use her OC Amy. I hope I captured her correctly in this chapter.**

 **If you have any suggestions, please leave them in a review or pm me. Or if you just wanna talk, feel free to pm me as well.**


	20. We Need a Plan

Amy, Scott, and Freddie carefully made their way to Fairy Godmother's office. They had to decided to talk to her during lunch because they knew that Mal and the twins would be busy. As soon as they reached the door, Scott knocked. Not allowing any fears or doubts to change his mind.

"Come in!" Fairy Godmother called out. The trio did as they were told. Freddie opened the door and stalked inside, followed closely by Amy and Scott. Fairy Godmother looked up from the paper that she had been reading to see who had entered. She was a little surprised to see three of the new VKs, but she smiled nonetheless. Her welcoming smile did little to ease their nerves though. "How can I help you kids today?"

Scott took a deep breath before beginning. "We need to talk to you and King Ben." He hoped the use of formal titles would alert the headmistress that this situation was very important. Thankfully, she seemed to catch on. She picked up her phone and dialed the number.

As it wrung, she took the opportunity to ask the kids another question. "May I ask what this is about?"

"Mal," Amy responded just as the young king answered his phone.

"What about Mal?" He asked through the phone.

Fairy Godmother was about to answer, but Amy beat her to the punch. "She needs our help."

"I'll be there in five."

True to his word, Ben arrived a few minutes later. It was quite clear that he had been running. Fairy Godmother gave him a stern look for running through the halls… again. Ben simply waved it off as he moved to stand next to her.

"Please, children, have a seat." Amy and Freddie sat down in the two seats that were already in front of the desk. Fairy Godmother magically conjured two more chairs for the boys. Sensing that the following conversation would be quite sensitive, she magically locked the door and cast a few protection spells. She didn't want anyone to overhear. Accidentally or intentionally.

"What about Mal?" Ben repeated his previous question, hoping to get a more detailed answer, as he took a seat next to Fairy Godmother. He wore a serious expression. His true emotions, whatever they may be, were hidden.

"She and the twins have a plan to steal your wand during the anniversary ball." Scott cut right to the chase. They didn't have time to beat around the bush.

"That is a serious accusation. Do you know this for certain?" Fairy Godmother inquired as she and Ben exchanged glances. It had been Mal who had alerted them of the boys' underlying plot to steal the wand in the first place. Now she was helping them?

Scott nodded. "They told me their plan last night. They have no idea that I've told anyone else."

"What is their plan?" Ben quizzed. He appeared to be in deep thought.

"Mal is going to use a temporary sleeping curse. And while everyone is asleep, she's going to steal the wand." Freddie explained slowly as Scott nodded in confirmation.

"But why?" Ben muttered under his breath. He couldn't wrap his head around the idea that Mal wanted to do something as evil as steal Fairy Godmother's wand. Sure, she had tried to do that in the past. But she was a different person now. She had changed and evolved from what she once was. She was good. Well, she was always good, but now she accepted it. At least, he thought that she had. Was all this just an elaborate scheme? Had he just been a pawn in her master plan yet again? Was the past year of their lives a lie?

Ben had meant for the question to be rhetorical. He was asking himself more than anyone else. So, he was surprised when Amy answered. "She's not in her right mind. Those worthless twins did something to her. I just know they did! Don't send her back to the Isle! Please, she doesn't deserve that," Amy pleaded with her sister's boyfriend. Well, now former boyfriend.

Ben took a minute to think. He mulled over everything he knew and all the information that he had just gathered. It would make sense if Mal had been spelled. That would explain the strange behavior and her sudden switch over to the dark side. "We aren't sending her back to the Isle. If what you say is true," and he hoped that it was, "then you're right. Mal doesn't deserve that." Amy let out a breath that she hadn't been aware that she was holding. "But we need to make sure that they don't get their hands on the wand."

"What do we do?" Scott asked.

"Mal is crafty. It's going to be difficult to beat her at her own game. Not to mention the home field advantage. She's been here for a year now. She knows her way around the place. Her magic is more powerful than it was before. She's had time to prepare, even if it wasn't intentional. Plus, Mal is an observer. She sees things and subconsciously files them away until they become useful. Well, now they would be useful," Amy added.

"Maybe we can trick her into believing that she has the wand by replacing it with a fake," Freddie suggested.

"The second she tests it she'll know it's a fake," Ben countered. He knew how thorough Mal could be. She never liked to leave anything to chance if she could help it.

"Can't you just… not take the wand with you? I mean, if they could have stolen it from the museum, surely they would have done so by now," Scott said as Fairy Godmother frowned slightly.

"No! It's tradition for me to have my wand at a formal event like this!" Fairy Godmother sounded appalled. "Besides, big parties like these are the most common for attacks to take place. I need my wand for defense."

"But your wand is the reason for the attack!" Scott argued as Fairy Godmother shook her head no.

"If I don't have it, people will ask questions and it'll draw attention. And we don't want to scare them. It'll be safer with me." There was a firmness to her voice.

Scott sighed in defeat. There was no way he could convince her of otherwise. Even though her decision was stupid.

"Well, we need a plan," Amy spoke. "We can't face Mal without one." She hated the idea of having to fight with her sister at all, but they had no choice right now.

"What about an antidote or something? Like… I don't know… trying to make everyone immune to the curse so she won't be able to _actually_ curse them?" Ben suggested as he searched for the right words.

"That could work," Fairy Godmother mumbled as she stood from her chair. She made her way over to her bookshelf. She carefully combed through it. "Leah had asked for something similar for Audrey years ago."

"Would it be possible to temporarily… take away her magic?" Freddie asked hesitantly

"What?" Ben asked incredulously. A look of horror crossed his face.

"What?" Freddie asked defensively. "Think about it. If Mal didn't have magic, then she wouldn't be able to cast the spell. And there will be too many people around for them to take it forcefully. Not to mention Fairy Godmother will be able to use her wand against them. Hence the need for the spell in the first place. They'll be out of options, and the wand will be safe."

"It's not a terrible idea," Scott agreed as Fairy Godmother frowned.

"No," she stated authoritatively.

"But why not?!"

"Magic binding is painful. The removal of one's powers as well. Even if it is only temporary. And if what you say is true and Mal isn't herself, then I would hate to subject her to that kind of pain."

"Besides, magic is a part of Mal! We can't just take that away from her," Ben added.

"But it's only temporary! And this may be our only option that stands a real chance of beating her," Scott stressed.

"I said no! I will not do such a thing to Mal! End of discussion!" Fairy Godmother tensely said as she continued to look through her bookshelf for the right book of spells.

"Then I'll do it," Amy said seriously.

"Amy, what… But…" Fairy Godmother stuttered in bewilderment. "She's your sister!"

"I know. That's exactly why I must do this. And I also know that none of this is her fault. Mal needs to be saved from herself and this is the only way! If you won't do it, then I will."

"Amy, think about what you're doing," Ben pleaded. The last thing he wanted was to see Mal in pain and he knew that Amy felt the same way.

"I am Ben. I know that you care about my sister. I hate that I must hurt her to save her. Whether we're fighting or not. But not doing anything is worse."

Ben sighed as he rubbed his face. He leaned back in his seat. "Alright. Fine. But we _need_ to make sure that _nothing_ goes wrong." Amy nodded.

"So, now that only leaves one question," Scott began as the others gave him questioning looks. "How are we going to pull this off? It's not like Mal is going to be a willing participant."

"We have to knock her out," Freddie stated thoughtfully. "But first, we'll need a distraction." She looked over at Ben.

"What?" Ben asked defensively as Fairy Godmother continued to comb through her bookshelf. At this point, she was hoping to find _anything_ that could be of use.

"You can distract Mal. I'll knock her out with a little bit of magic. Then, Amy can bind her magic," Freddie elaborated as Ben gave her a skeptical look.

"Are you sure Mal doesn't know that you told us?" Ben quizzed skeptically. It wasn't like Mal to be easily fooled.

Scott nodded, "Yeah. So, are you going to help us?"

"Fine, I'll help you. But, we need to tell the others about what is going on before we make any major moves. They deserve to know as well." The others nodded, agreeing to his terms. The others had a right to know. After all, they were Mal's best friends.

"I understand telling Evie, Jay, Carlos, and Lori about all of this. But, what about the Auradonian kids? What do we tell them?" Scott asked carefully as he stared at nothing in particular.

"We tell them the truth," Ben advised as Fairy Godmother returned to her desk with a small stack of books. "There's no point in lying to them. They're going to find out anyway. Might as well have the extra help."

"I guess so," Scott shrugged.

"Here." Fairy Godmother handed over her stack of books to Amy.

"What are these for?" Amy asked, a small look of confusion on her face.

"They're some of my old spell books. There's a spell for spell-binding in there. And maybe you'll find something else of use."

"I thought you weren't going to help us," Amy voiced as she took the offered books.

Fairy Godmother sighed. "I said I wouldn't bind Mal's magic. I never said I wouldn't help you to do it properly. We don't want anything to go wrong."

"Right," Amy said as she started to flip through the first book.

"We should go find the others. Before lunch is over," Ben stated. As he stood from his seat, it disappeared in a light blue mist. Same with Scott.

The four teens said their goodbyes to the headmistress before heading out into the hallway.

If all went well, they would be getting their purple haired friend back soon.

* * *

 **Hey guys and gals! Sorry for the short chapter. Well, relatively short. I am also so so so so so so so sorry that this chapter is** **so so so so so so so late. Please forgive me. I haven't had much time to write because of school. I've been too busy studying. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thanks to everyone who favorited or followed, especially in my absence. Of course, you don't have to if you don't want to. Thanks to everyone for just reading my story. It means a lot to me. Well, see you all in the next chapter!**

 **If you have any suggestions or need someone to talk to, leave a review, or PM me. I always answer my messages, even if I haven't updated in a while.**


	21. The Truth Comes Out

"What?!" Evie yelled as she jumped up from her seat. Doug gently grabbed her hand in his. Currently, the teens were in Carlos and Jay's dorm room trying to discuss the latest issue at hand. Evie wasn't taking it too well, but who could blame her.

"Somehow, the twins have managed to curse Mal. So, now she is going to help them steal the wand during the anniversary ball," Ben repeated.

"That makes more sense than her just switching over to the dark side," Carlos admitted as Jane held onto him a little tighter. The whole situation was frightening to her. If they could get Mal, one of the strongest people she knew, to be evil, then what else could they do?

"How were they planning on stealing the wand?" Jay asked as he leaned back in his seat. His arms were crossed tightly against his chest. His body rigid. He wanted to punch those twins for laying a hand on Mal. She was like his sister, and he failed to protect her. He failed at the one thing that she had actually asked him to do.

"Mal was going to put everyone under a temporary sleeping curse," Amy said as Audrey drew in a sharp breath. She had a history with one of those. Or rather, her mother did. She luckily was sort of immune, thanks to a spell from Fairy Godmother, but that didn't stop her from being scared. If she was the only one left standing when this all went down, then what was she to do to stop Mal from getting the wand. She couldn't fight, and she didn't have magic. She was practically useless.

"What are we going to do about this?" Lonnie questioned as she looked at the faces of all of her friends.

"We came up with a plan already," Freddie announced.

"Ben will distract Mal, Freddie will knock her out, and Amy will bind her magic. So, she won't be able to use it," Scott explained as the others gave skeptical looks.

"Fairy Godmother said she would try to create a sort of antidote, so everyone will be immune to the curse. As a back up if this plan were to fail," Ben added, the others seemed to relax a little in knowing that they had a backup because this plan wasn't as sound as Scott wanted them to believe.

"And Fairy Godmother gave me some spell books to look through," Amy stated as she glanced over her small stack of borrowed books. She had some reading to do.

"When is all of this going to happen?" Jay inquired as he thought hard about something.

"We were thinking in a few days. That way the effect will definitely last until the ball, and she'll have less time to form a new plan to get around the fact that she won't have her magic," Scott explained.

"What are we supposed to do until then?" Evie asked as she leaned into Doug's side. She looked defeated. She wasn't holding herself with her usual regality.

"Act natural. Act like you have no idea what the twins did and are going to do," Ben suggested. "We can't let them know what we're planning."

"Secrecy is of the upmost importance. It could mean the difference between Auradon and no Auradon. The difference between life and death," Freddie added seriously. Her trademark smirk and the playful glint in her eyes were no longer there. She was being completely serious. Which, if you knew Freddy Facilier, was unusual.

"What if we can't stop them?" Jane asked quietly. Everyone could hear the fear in her voice. They couldn't blame her for being scared. They were all scared, maybe for several reasons, but fear is still fear.

"We will," Ben stated firmly. He didn't know if the statement was more for the others or himself. It the others weren't looking up to him at the moment, he would have crumbled long ago. It was tearing him apart inside that the twins were able to do this under his nose. It was tearing him apart that he didn't have Mal standing next to him; whispering encouraging words into his ear.

"Where's Lori?" Scott asked, noticing her absence for the first time.

"She wasn't feeling up to a gathering right now; she said she had a headache. So, Thea pulled her away," Evie explained through a sigh.

"Okay." Was all Scott replied with. No one spoke after that. A heavy silence settled over the room. No one knew what else to say. Amy cracked open one of the books. She didn't want to do anything wrong and risk Mal's well-being.

Thea paced patiently in front of the bathroom door. Lori had gone in a while ago and hadn't said a word since. Thea was starting to get worried about her cousin. She paused before the door, her fist raised and ready. She gently knocked.

"Lori are you okay?"

There was no sound from the other side. Thea tried turning the knob; the door wasn't locked. Slowly, she opened the door and stepped inside, closing it behind her. She found Lori sitting on the floor, her back against the counter. She was staring at nothing in particular and she looked paler than usual.

"Lori, what's wrong? Please talk to me. Maybe I can help."

"I thought I could get a fresh start in Auradon. How stupid I was." Her voice sounded far away and detached. She laughed, but without humor.

"What are you talking about? You can… you _are_ getting a fresh start."

"Things have just gotten worse since I arrived."

"What things?" Thea asked as she sat down next to her cousin.

"Everything." Lori didn't elaborate. Thea didn't push any further. If she didn't want to talk about it, then she wasn't going to force her. They sat in silence for a good few minutes. "Do you believe in fate? That everything happens for a reason?"

"I do. I believe that there must be a reason for everything. Good and bad. The gods must have a larger plan for us. Did I ever tell you the story of how Finn and I met?" Lori shook her head; pieces of hair fell in her face. She made no effort to move them out of the way.

"Well, we met a few years back, when I was around 13 or 14. We had this assignment in school. We were supposed to write an essay or whatever about something the we regretted. Most people just wrote about how they regretted not reading a book for class or studying for a test. There was even one about how they regretted pushing their brother off the swing. Basic things like that. But mine was a bit different. I wrote about you."

Lori frowned a bit. "About me? What do you have to regret?"

"I regret not trying harder to convince the council that you weren't, and still aren't, a villain. I regret not trying harder to convince them that you didn't belong on the Isle. You belonged with us. With your family."

"We were kids then. There wasn't much that you could have done. It's not like they would have listened to you anyway."

"That's true, but still. I could have tried harder. The other kids teased me about it. They said that you were a villain through and through. They said that you deserved to be on the Isle. They said that you must have messed with my mind to get me to think like that. They said I was naïve and stupid for trusting you, just like my father had been with Loki."

"People can be cruel," Lori muttered. There was an edge to her voice. One that suggested knowing.

"Yeah, they can be. It went on for weeks. I couldn't talk to my parents about it because they were in Asgard. Finally, I had had enough of the torture. So, one day, I packed a bag and I ran away. I ran, and I ran, and I ran. Until I couldn't run anymore. When I finally stopped, I was in a clearing with a tall, rundown tower. Being as curious as I was, I ventured closer towards it. There was a hole in the back, I went through and found a spiraling staircase that lead me to the top. The place was musty and dusty, but there were so many beautiful paintings on the walls. I immediately knew it to be Rapunzel's tower. My mother used to tell me the stories of all of the princesses when I was younger. It wasn't long before Finn arrived. He sat with me and we talked. He told me that he would come to the tower every so often just to get away from the world. He walked me back to his house. My parents picked me up from there. After that, we were best friends. He asked me out a couple years later.

So, you see, everything happens for a reason. Take Chris and Chad's parents for example. If Queen Ella's stepmother and sisters hadn't been so cruel, she wouldn't have run off into the forest and met the prince. She would have never gone to the ball to see him. And they would have never fallen in love. **(Referencing Cinderella 2015)** Everything happens for a reason, no matter how bad they may seem at the time."

"Your story reminds me of…" Lori trailed off as she shifted her gaze down.

"You and Scott?" Thea guessed as Lori slowly nodded. Thea put an arm around her cousin and pulled her in closer. "Why did you go out with him?"

"I don't know. It was just a feeling, you know?"

"Yeah, I know."

"But that all changed because of… because of-" Lori couldn't say it. She shut her eyes and leaned into Thea's side. Thea could feel Lori's heartbeat quicken and could hear her breath become irregular.

"Hey, it's okay. You're okay. Everything is alright. You're safe now, okay?" Thea tried to calm the other girl down as she soothingly rubbed her arm. She recognized it as a panic attack. She herself had only ever had one. When she found out that the frost giants were planning on attacking Asgard. She had been in Auradon at the time, but her family was still in Asgard. She had been worried about them and she couldn't do anything to help. Finn and Chris had helped her calm down.

"Sorry," Lori whispered as she managed to get her breathing back to a somewhat normal state.

"No, don't be sorry. It wasn't your fault. Okay? Don't be sorry. Is that the first time you've ever had a panic attack?"

"Yeah. It's never really bothered me like this," Lori hesitated for a second. "But I've been having nightmares for a while. They got worse after… the party."

"What are they about?" Thea asked. Lori shook her head, indicating that she wasn't ready to go into depth just yet.

"Everything happens for a reason. What is the reason, do you think, for putting me on the Isle? Besides you meeting your boyfriend."

Thea let out a small laugh. "I think we are still waiting to find out. But we will find out. You did not go through all of that in vain. There is a reason. There has to be."

* * *

 **Hey guys and gals! As you know, the Cinderella reference was from the Cinderella movie from 2015. And the Rapunzel reference was from Tangled. Lori's state was sort of based on Loki after his mother died in Thor: The Dark World.**

 **I hope you all enjoyed that chapter. School has now ended and I am on Summer vacation. Yay! Hopefully that means more updates. But no promises.**

 **Thanks to everyone who favorited, reviewed, or followed. Thanks for just reading. It means a lot to me. A special thanks to pinksakura27 for allowing me to use her OC Amy and for helping me write some of these chapters.**

 **See you all in the next chapter.**


	22. Bound by Magic

Today was the day. Today was the day they were going to take her magic. Today was the day they were going to hopefully put a stop to her evil plan. Needless to say, they were all worried and or scared. They didn't know if this was going to work or what would happen afterwards. If they were able to successfully bind her magic, would Mal return to her old self? Or would that just send this new Mal out for blood? They had no way of knowing.

Everyone had been doing their best to prepare. Amy had read through all of the spell books that Fairy Godmother had given her. Freddie worked on her magic and sparred with Lonnie, just in case the magic didn't work or Mal put up more of a fight. She had to be ready for anything. She has very powerful voodoo magic. Although, her powers were more limited than Mal's. Her powers, like her father's, stem mostly from those on the other side; needless to say, she inherited, and is being forced to work off, some of his debt. She could see someone's past and what they desired most. Although, she did have a few potions that she stole from her father's lair back on the Isle.

The others didn't really have much to do in the way of preparation, but they all had their parts to play. Evie had informed Thea of the situation. Who then in turn told Lori, Finn, and Chris. Scott had agreed to stay away while they were binding Mal's magic in the case that she was still evil. They wanted to ensure that Mal didn't find out he was a double agent. They figured that having someone on the inside would probably be helpful in the future. Although, the irony is, she already knows. Lori still wasn't really herself. The others hadn't seen much of her unless they shared a class or caught a glimpse of her getting lunch before she retreated back into the safety of her room. Thea would take breakfast and dinner for the both of them back to their dorm and they would eat together there. No one knew what was going on with her, but they gave her space to get through it. Chris and Finn, of course, were keeping a close eye on the two. Making sure that they were alright and helping if they needed anything. Audrey, having realized that Amy wasn't a huge fan of hers, kept her distance and only interacted with the pink haired teen when it was necessary. She didn't want to push the other girl, or have a repeat of what happened at the party. Chad kept her company while Jay was helping the others with the whole Mal situation.

That left Ben, Amy, Freddie, Evie, Jay, Carlos, Jane, Doug, and Lonnie to deal with binding Mal's powers. They would have preferred to have more muscle on their side, not really knowing the extent of Mal's powers, seeing as how magic wasn't really allowed in Auradon. But, they made do with who they had and hoped that they wouldn't have to fight the purple haired teen that they once considered to be a good friend.

Ben rubbed his hands together as he stood in front of the familiar wooden door. He had stood in this same place so many times before in the past year, he didn't know why he was so nervous. He looked down the hall at Freddie. She gave him a curt nod before disappearing into the shadows, quite literally. Ben gulped. It was now or never. He knocked on the door that he was so accustomed to. A second later, a familiar purple haired teen opened the door. She wore an irritated, but slightly curious expression.

"What?" Mal asked harshly as she stood before Ben.

"Um… well… I uh… I know we, um… we aren't together anymore, but um… I was just, uh, thinking… that maybe…" Ben stuttered through his sentence. And not just because he was trying to stall for time.

Mal rolled her bright green eyes. "Spit it out already!" She growled as she leaned on the door frame. The old Mal would have found a flustered Ben to be cute, but now she just found it irritating. After all, she still needed a fool proof plan to get that wand.

"Right. Sorry," Ben apologized as he saw Freddie slip out of the shadows and into Mal's room. He tried to keep his focus on Mal, which wasn't that difficult. He still thought she was stunning. "So, I was just thinking that maybe I would check in and see if you needed anything."

"No, I don't need anything," Mal responded bitterly, not happy that he was wasting her time. She also knew that, by now, he had to know that she was planning on stealing the wand. So what was he playing at? She had half a mind to slam the door in his face and be done with it. But something told her not to. A small voice in the back of her mind told her to keep talking to the fool before her. "Was there something else?"

"Oh, um." Ben stole a quick glance over Mal's shoulder. Freddie needed a little more time. "Yeah, actually. A few of us are getting together for a study group. We were wondering if you wanted to join?" It wasn't really a lie. He and a few others wereplanning on getting together to study for a major test that was coming up soon. But, something told him it would be delayed.

Mal stared at him with a blank face for a second. She knew someone was behind her. She could feel their presence and the extra pair of eyes that were trained at her back. She could also feel the pulse of magic. But it wasn't hers. It was new, but still wasn't foreign to her, at the same time. Freddie. So that's what he was doing. He was just the distraction. Mal was almost proud of him for being so sneaky. Almost.

"That sounds wonderful, but I'm a little busy." Mal decided to humor them for another second. Let them think they still had the upper hand.

"With what?" Ben was genuinely curious.

"You see, my dorm has a pest problem," Mal said as her eyes narrowed. "Rats always showing up where they shouldn't be." Mal quickly turned around, her cold gaze landing on the Voo Doo priestess (in training) that was trying to sneak up on her. Ben quickly grabbed Mal's arm as she began to move towards the other girl. With her free hand, Mal used her magic to send Ben flying across the hall. He roughly hit the wall and fell to the ground. It looked like he was out cold. She promptly closed and locked the door.

"I know we've had our differences, but come on Mal," Freddie tried as Mal glared at her.

"Why don't we review? You had Ben distract me while you snuck in to my room. And then what? What comes next Freddie? Do tell."

"It's nothing really. Just a harmless prank, I swear," Freddie nervously laughed as Mal slowly stalked closer. The half fairy conjured a purple fireball in her hand as a smirk formed on her lips. Freddie gulped; she was definitely scared.

Mal threw the fireball at her target. Freddie just about managed to dodge it before she watched as it burned a whole in the curtains.

"I always hated those. Too pink," Mal commented offhandedly.

Freddie took a deep breath as she took out a vial that held neon yellow dust inside. The label showed a picture of a star. She threw it in Mal's direction before ducking behind one of the beds and covering her eyes. A bright yellow light was emitted when the vial hit the floor. Mal grunted as she was blinded. She stumbled back, disoriented. When the light faded, Freddie stepped out to see Mal rubbing at her eyes. An angry scowl was present on her face.

"I truly am sorry about this Mal." Freddie took out another vial. The dust inside was shimmery purple in color. The label had a cloud on it. Freddie poured a little into her palm and blew it in Mal's direction. The dust cloud disappeared as it came in contact with Mal's face. Mal stumbled back, her eyes rolled before she fell to the ground. Freddie checked to make sure that Mal was really knocked out. After she made the confirmation, she went to unlock and open the door. Doug and Evie were helping Ben off of the floor. He still looked a little out of it. The others were just arriving.

"Let's get this over with," Amy said as she entered the room. Jay carefully lifted Mal and placed her on her bed.

"Okay, Amy, do your thing," Evie said with a sigh as she looked at her best friend. How did things get so bad?

Amy nodded as she stepped up to the side of her sister's bed. She closed her eyes in concentration as she recalled everything that she had read about magic binding. She felt the pulse of Mal's magic. It was the strongest one in the room, Jane came in at a close second though. She assumed that her own would have been as strong as Mal's if she had had more time to develop them. Amy latched onto Mal's magic energy. It was surrounding the other girl, like a protective barrier or something. Amy took a deep breath before her hands formed around an invisible sphere. She slowly pushed on it. She noticed how her hands got closer together, Mal's magical energy grew smaller. It was as if it was collapsing in on itself. Mal let out a scream as Amy continued. Everyone flinched.

"Maybe we should stop."

"Yeah."

"Shut up! Don't distract her!"

"But, Mal-"

"Shut it!"

It wasn't long before Amy was finished. When she scanned the room, she noticed how she could no longer feel Mal's magic. She took that as a good sign.

"It's done," the pink haired teen announced as she opened her eyes again. Mal was still out, a pained look on her face.

"What now?" Lonnie asked.

"Now we wait."

* * *

She couldn't hear. She couldn't see. She couldn't touch. She couldn't move. It was as if she was in one of those sensory deprivation tanks. But she knew for a fact that she wasn't. She tried to speak, but no words came out. Or maybe they did and she just couldn't hear them. Not knowing anything was frustrating. Usually, she knew everything. She wanted to scream, but knew it would do no good. So, she didn't even try. She was about to give up all hope when she heard a voice. It was cold, but warm. Unforgiving, but welcoming. It was unfamiliar, but, at the same time, she felt like she knew it from somewhere. Like she shouldknow who it belonged to. She racked her brain, but came up empty.

"Pathetic really."

"What?" She almost jumped at hearing her own voice. She had thought it to be lost.

"You. You are quite pitiful."

"I am not. You don't even know me!"

"You are weak, daughter of Maleficent." She flinched at those words. They brought up so many bad memories. "I know much more than you know. You let evil overcome you. You are pitiful, for you have given up."

"I have not! Things just aren't-"

"Just because Fate doesn't deal you the right cards, it doesn't mean you should give up. It just means that you have to play the cards you get to their maximum potential."

"That makes absolutely no sense."

"It makes sense. You just don't want to take the time to understand it, for fear you may be wrong in your actions."

"Look, whoever you are, I control my own fate-"

"Wrong."

She growled, tired of being interrupted. "Excuse me?"

"You are wrong."

"And why is that? Do tell." The irritation clear in her voice.

"You can control your destiny, but not your fate."

"What does that even mean?! What's the difference?!"

"Destiny means there are opportunities to turn right or left, but fate is a one way street. We all have choices as to whether we fulfill our destiny, but our fate is sealed."

"My fate is not sealed."

"Stubborn. Like your mother."

"I can, and will, decide my own destiny and fate."

"And that is where you are once again wrong. You have to accept your fate without bitterness and stay humble." She rolled her eyes. None of this made any sense. "I can show you a piece of your fate if you so choose."

She hesitated. If this person, or whatever they were, was telling the truth, then she would be seeing a part of her own future. She knew that it could be dangerous. No one was supposed to know their own future. She thought back to something that she had read in one her mother's old spellbooks.

 _"To know one's future is to doom it."_

"What is your decision?"

"I want to see it." It was dangerous, but she was curious.

"Very well then."

In a flash, a dagger appeared before her. The hilt was gold and encrusted with red jewels. It was in a red leather sheath. The tip of it matched the hilt. Slowly, the dagger removed itself from the sheath to reveal the jagged blade. It was dripping in blood. She felt a pain in her chest.

"You will encounter this blade on three separate occasions. Each will be worse than the last. It is connected to your fate and there is nothing that you can do to rid yourself of it. Trust me."

"Why should I trust you. I don't even know who you are."

"Not now, but you will. Just remember this, if there is a meaning in life at all, then there must be a meaning in suffering. Suffering is an ineradicable part of life even as fate and death. Without suffering and death, human life cannot be complete."

"What?" She was tired of the riddles. Why couldn't she just get a straight answer?

 _"Mal?"_ There was another voice. This was she knew well. It sounded like…

 _"Evie are you sure you want to wake her now?"_

 _"Yes, I'm sure. She can't possible hurt us. And I want answers."_

 _"Fine."_

 _"Mal? Are you up?"_

Mal groaned. Everything hurt. Her eyelids felt heavy. She was completely drained of energy. She opened her eyes a smidge, but the light was overbearing.

"What?" her voice sounded hoarse. What was going on? She opened her eyes fully. It took a minute for them to fully adjust to the light. But when they did, she was greeted by the sight of her friends' worried faces. "What the hell?" Mal groaned again as she propped herself up on her elbows. She took a moment to look around. She was in her bed wearing black leggings, a black bralette, and a loose off the shoulder tee. When did that happen? "What am I wearing?" She muttered mostly to herself.

"Mal, what is the last thing you remember?"

Mal really had to think about it for a minute, but the last thing she remembered was…

"Eating dinner with Ben and his parents. Why?"

Evie bit her lip. A sign that she was trying to hide her fear. The others looked even more concerned than before, but a little relieved.

"E, what is going on?"

"Mal," Ben began. He didn't meet her eyes. "That was days ago."

"What?!" She yelled as she quickly sat up. She immediately regretted it as she got a little dizzy. "What have I done since then?!"

Before they had a chance to answer, Mal screamed out in pain.

"Mal?"

She covered her ears as she heard a loud ringing and a voice shouting at her. Her eyes glowed a bright green as she growled.

"I thought you bound her magic," Jane said fearfully.

"Yeah, I did," Amy replied. She didn't sense Mal's magical signature, but she did sense something else.

"Then what is going on?"

"Fools," Mal growled as she examined her hands.

"I think Evil Mal is back," Freddie groaned.

"The only Mal that matters," the purple haired girl retorted easily.

"I don't believe that," Ben stated as he finally looked at her."

"Believe what you want. The old Mal was weak. I'm stronger than she will ever be." Mal slid off the bed and stalked around the group. Jane held onto Carlos as Mal got closer to her.

"She was not…" Evie sighed. "You were not weak."

"We can agree to disagree. But know this, just because I don't have my magic, doesn't mean I won't get that wand." Mal slipped out the door and slammed it shut behind her. A picture that had been hung next to the door rattled on the wall before it fell to the ground. The glass shattered and the frame broke.

"I was afraid she was going to say that," Doug voiced as he held Evie's hand.

* * *

 **Hey guys and gals! I am so sorry for the delay! It's been crazy. As you know, I had computer troubles. I've mostly fixed the problem. Thanks for everyone who suggested a way for me to fix it. I appreciate it. After that, I had summer classes. Then my sister got her wisdom teeth taken out, so I had to help take care of her for a couple days. And then I got mine taken out the week after that, so I really couldn't do anything. I have a lot of school work this week. Which is my own fault. I screwed myself over with that, I'll admit. And next week I'm going to be out of town. Then the week after that, I start school again. So... I didn't realize the last month of my summer break was going to be so hectic.**

 **But you guys and gals don't care about all of that.**

 **Just so you know, for all of those sayings and whatnot about fate and destiny and suffering were quotes that I got online.**

 **I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! For some reason, I've been dreading writing this chapter. I don't know why. I think it came out alright. I don't know. Let me know what you think. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, followed, or favorited. Thanks for just reading. It really means a lot to me. A special thanks to pinksakura271 for allowing me to use her OC Amy and everything else that she's done to help me.**

 **That was long. Sorry. Anyway, see you all in the next chapter!**


	23. A Night to Remember

**Guys and Gals... I have no words. Just... Just enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

He fell to his knees. He had failed. The most important task of his life, and he had failed at it. He stared at the blood that formed drops on the tile. Someone was pacing behind of him. Someone was crying. Friends tried to offer encouraging words to soothe each other in this time of distress. It didn't work. Someone was trying to talk to him, but he wasn't listening. Arguments about what was to happen next eventually reached his ear. A heavy silence had settled over everything else. He wished that the silence could stay forever. That it could just swallow him whole, so he would have to deal with the awful situation at hand no longer. But, alas, it wasn't so. At some point or another, we all have to face our demons. Whether they are on the inside or out.

Some people may go on to change the world. Others go on and break it. No matter what we do or what we believe, we are all connected. We are all connected by fear.

* * *

Evie sat at her vanity. She slumped in the chair.

"Evie, come on, you love parties."

"It's not right. Mal should be there. Should be _here_. The real Mal. It's just not the same without her."

"Evie, we all miss Mal. But, right now, we need to get ready for the ball. That way we can stop Mal from doing something that we all know she'll regret later."

Evie sighed as she stared at her unbrushed hair in the mirror. "I know you're right, Lonnie. I know. But… I still miss her."

"I know. But, she would want you to continue living your life. She would want you to go to this party. And more than anything, she is counting on us to stop her and the twins."

"You're right," Evie stated firmly as she sat up straighter. "She's counting on us. On me."

"Precisely. Now, I'm going to go to my room to finish getting ready. Will you be okay here on your own?"

"Yeah." Evie waved her friend away. "I'm good now. Thanks."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. Go get ready."

Lonnie gave her friend a sad smile before heading towards the door. "Doug said he would be here later to pick you up. We'll all meet outside the school. Ben is sending over a limo for us." She didn't really want to leave the other girl alone right now, but she had to get ready.

"Okay. See you later."

Lonnie gave one last wave before she left the room and closed the door behind her. She remained outside for a minute before finally heading to her own room.

Evie stared at her reflection in the mirror. She only had like an hour or so before she had to meet her friends for the ball, and she wasn't close enough to being ready. She smiled. Mal would be yelling at her to hurry up. Or mumbling about how she was being forced to wear another dress and makeup. She missed her best friend. Her sister.

* * *

"I feel weird." Lori tried to smooth the nonexistent wrinkles on her dress, an Evie original. It was simple, like that last one she had made, but still beautiful. It had a gold beaded halter top and an emerald green satin skirt that flowed down to the floor. Half of her wavy black hair had been pinned back, the rest flowed freely. Gold hoop earrings were visible. And a pair of gold stilettos were hidden under her dress. Her makeup wasn't as simple. Green eyeshadow with a cut crease and gold glitter. A soft pink gloss coated her lips.

"You look amazing. Like a princess," Thea assured as she moved her cousin's hands to her sides. "I can think of a certain prince who would agree."

Lori blushed slightly. "Stop it. He probably doesn't think of me like that. And I'm no princess. Besides, you'll be busy stealing the spotlight in your gorgeous dress."

Thea gave a small twirl to show off her outfit. It was another one of Evie's fabulous creations. That girl was definitely talented. It was strapless. With a deep red bodice and a lighter red tulle skirt. Thea's blonde hair was curled and allowed to hang freely. Her silver pumps giving her some extra height. She had a warm smoky eye and a red lip.

"Oh, please. This old thing?"

The girls laughed lightly.

"I'm glad you're feeling better," Thea said in all seriousness. "I wouldn't want to go without you."

Lori gave her cousin a small smile. "Yeah. Better." Lori stared at her reflection in the mirror. She felt out of place. She wasn't big on social events. They made her uncomfortable. And if she were being one hundred percent honest, she really didn't feel that much better. She was just going in order to please her friends. She knew they were worried.

"I think the boys are going to be picking us up any minute now. We're all meeting at the entrance to the school to head over to Castle Beast together."

"Okay."

"Are you sure you're feeling up to this? You've been pretty down lately."

"I'll be fine," Lori insisted. She paused before taking a deep breath. "Everything's going to be okay tonight, right?"

"Yeah. Of course it will. Why wouldn't it be?"

"I… I just have a bad feeling. But I'm sure it's nothing. You're probably right. Everything will be fine."

Thea was about to respond when there was a knock at the door. She opened it to reveal the boys.

"Well, you guys clean up nicely."

"And you girls look breathtaking." Finn kissed his girlfriend. "Ready?"

Thea nodded. She was in desperate need of a party. Even though there was a chance that there was going to be an attack.

"Lori?"

"You guys go ahead. I just need a minute."

"Are you sure?"

Lori nodded. "I'll be right behind you guys. Promise."

The others reluctantly left as Lori sighed. She took one last glance at herself in the mirror. She still felt uncomfortable, but she would push past that. Her friends needed a night of fun. And she knew that they wouldn't enjoy themselves if they thought something was wrong with her.

She sighed once more as she turned to leave and meet her friends outside. Then, everything became dark. She was unprepared for what came next.

* * *

They were all stood in the ballroom. For the most part, they were having a good time. But they were all on edge. Neither Mal nor the twins had been seen yet. And she was still pissed about having her magic taken away. They all still felt guilty about that, but it was for the best. They just hoped that Mal, the _real_ Mal, would forgive them.

Ben had just finished welcoming all of the guests. He decided that now would be a good time to check in with the others. He had been keeping his eye out for Mal and the twins, but he didn't really have much time to look around with the line of guests that he was required to greet as King and host. Though, the trio hadn't been in line, so he took that as a sign that they weren't here.

He saw all of his friends talking in a group and headed in that direction.

"Hey guys," Ben addressed his friends once he arrived.

They all offered up some sort of greeting of their own upon seeing the young king.

"Anything new?" he questioned as the group shook their heads. As he looked around, he realized someone was missing. "Where's Lori?"

They all glanced around, noticing her absence for the first time. Thea was about to comment when they heard a faint scream coming from down the hall. The chatter and music that had been filling the ballroom died down. It was soon consumed by curious whispers.

Ben found his parents and Fairy Godmother standing up in the front of the room.

"Please, everyone calm down. We assure you that it was nothing. Continue your festivities while we investigate this minor disturbance," Adam proclaimed before he motioned for his son and his friends to go out in the hall. He joined them soon after. Belle and Fairy Godmother were right behind him. "What is going on?" Adam's tone was serious.

Ben didn't know how to answer. "We don't know." And that was the truth. He honestly had no idea what was going on… at all. Everything was a mess. And it was his fault. He knew it was.

Belle quickly looked through the group in front of her. She stopped on Amy and made a note to ask Ben about that later. "Where's Mal?"

No one really wanted to tell the royal couple about the events of the past few days.

"She's-" Evie began, but was cut off by another scream.

They could hear it more clearly now that they were away from the crowd. They hoped that no one inside had heard it.

The scream definitely belonged to a female. It sounded… almost familiar.

"Let's go see what's going on," Ben said as he began walking toward the direction of the scream. His family and friends were behind him. He stopped outside of his mother's library. There was a strange glow coming from beneath the door. Almost… magical. He looked to his mother. She only shrugged; she knew no more than he did. In fact, she knew less.

Ben slowly opened the door. But he didn't like what he saw. He let out a low growl as he entered. His friends gaped and cursed behind him.

"What do you want?" Ben demanded as the guy in front of him gave his trademark smirk.

"We want the wand. Isn't it obvious yet?" Gaston Jr. remarked as he pressed his knife closer to Mal's neck. She wore a look of pure terror. Ben never thought that he would ever see such a look on her face. And seeing it now made him sick.

"Why are you doing this to her? I thought you were working together." Audrey asked, her own fear shining through.

"Without her magic, she's useless to us."

They all felt a major pang of guilt. This was their fault. They had taken her magic away.

"Fairy Godmother, do something!" Lonnie pleaded frantically. She didn't want to see one of her best friends die.

"Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo!" Fairy Godmother chanted as she waved her wand in the air.

In an instant, Gaston Jr. and Mal were frozen in place. Just a second later, they turned to green smoke and literally blew away.

"What just happened?" Doug inquired while everyone stood there dumbfounded. "Did you…?"

"Of course not!" Fairy Godmother exclaimed. Nothing about this seemed right.

A slow, sarcastic clap began. The group looked around, confused.

"Congratulations. You foiled our plan."

"Gaston Jr.? But you just-" Evie managed to get out before he cut her off.

"Yeah, that wasn't me."

"Then who was it?"

"Well, isn't that the million-dollar question?"

"Mal? What is going on?!"

Everyone was confused. They had no idea what had just happened, or what was about to happen.

"Did you really think I didn't know that you went off and told your little girlfriend? Or that I didn't know what you were planning?" Mal snarled at Scott.

"But… I… I…" Scott stammered as he tried to think of something to say.

"You what? You were careful? Well, you should know by now, no one can fool me."

"Who were those people?" Freddie asked again, trying to drag Mal's attention away from Scott.

The purple-haired fairy only laughed. "They were merely illusions."

"But you don't have any magic!" Jane blurted before she could stop herself.

Mal glared at the small girl, fully aware of what she no longer possessed. Jane let out a squeak and hung onto Lonnie's arm.

"But Lori does," Amy said coldly. She remembered what had happened at the first ball that they had gone to.

"You were always so clever, Amy," Mal complimented her twin.

"Why would Lori help you?" Chris demanded. He didn't think it was something that she would do. Whenever he talked to her, she seemed to really enjoy Auradon. And she didn't seem like the kind of person who would want to destroy Auradon. She didn't seem... evil. None of it made any sense.

"I can be very persuasive." Mal snapped her fingers as Gaston III stepped out of the shadows.

He held Lori firmly against his chest, a gun pressed to her head. Although, she was already bleeding. Blood dripped down the side of her head and from the corner of her mouth. Not to mention the fresh bruises or the tears in her dress. It was clear that there had been some sort of fight. One that she obviously lost.

Gaston III had his own bruises and cuts. Showing that even though she lost, she put up a hell of a fight.

"Taking my magic was only a minor setback. A problem with an easy fix. I just had to find someone who _did_ have magic. Lori was the obvious choice given her weakened state and her powerful abilities." Mal clapped her hands together. "Now, give me the wand. Or else you're going to have to make some uncomfortable calls. Besides, black isn't really an Auradonian color."

"How do we know that this isn't another illusion? How do we know that Lori isn't actually in on this?" Amy challenged as Mal put on a pout.

"Oh Amy, I can't believe that you don't trust your own sister."

"You aren't my sister. Not anymore."

Mal frowned. "I can assure you, she's quite real. My patience, however, is not. So, give me the wand."

"I don't believe you. You're a master of lying."

"It's true, I am." Mal held out her hand. Gaston III gave her the gun. She pointed it at Lori.

"The Mal I know, the Mal I love, isn't capable of hurting her friends," Ben said quietly.

Mal looked at him for a long minute. "You have no idea what I'm capable of." When no one else made any move to do anything, Mal pulled the trigger and shot Lori in the stomach without any hesitation. The others jumped at the sudden noise.

"NO!" Thea called as she reached out to her cousin. Finn pulled her back and held on to her tightly. She turned and cried into his chest, unable to watch whatever came next.

Gaston III let go of Lori and she fell to her knees, the pain written all over her face. She placed her hands over the wound. Everyone could see how they were being stained red. Drops of blood fell onto the library floor.

Lori tried to put on a front, for the benefit of her friends. They didn't need to know how terrified she was. They didn't need to know how much pain she was in. They didn't need to know how close to death she felt. But, to her dismay, some of it still seeped through. She was too weak to hide it all.

"Is that enough proof for you?" Mal handed the gun back to Gaston III.

He roughly picked Lori back up and pressed the gun against her skull once again.

"Mother! Do something!" Jane whispered urgently. She was tired of seeing her friends get hurt.

"You should listen to her. All you have to do is give me the wand. Or do you want to find out the hard way that you're not faster than a bullet?"

Fairy Godmother really didn't see how she had much of a choice. She was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Either she handed over the wand and let Auradon be destroyed, or she kept it and allowed an innocent teenage girl to die. She sighed in defeat as she extended the wand to Mal.

The younger fairy accepted it with a smirk. They could all see the victory in her eyes. "Pleasure doing business with you." She thoroughly inspected the wand, it was mesmerizing. And it was finally hers. "Oh, and one more thing. I don't take kindly to traitors." She waved the wand and blue smoke circled around Scott's feet. It climbed higher until it engulfed him completely. When it dissipated, he was gone.

"Where is he?!" Amy yelled as her eyes glowed a brilliant red.

Mal smirked. "You'll find out soon enough." She waved the wand once more, and the group of four disappeared in their own cloud of blue mist.

"Would someone like to tell us what just happened?" Adam growled from the back of the group.

"We lost. The villains got exactly what they wanted," Amy said. "And they used my sister to do it. Like she was some damn puppet."

Thea was still crying. "She's not going to die, right? They aren't going to kill her, are they?"

"Well, they don't really need her anymore."

"Freddie!"

"What?"

Ben fell to his knees. Lori's blood on the tile floor in front of him. He had failed. How could he fail? This was possibly the most important task of his life. And he had failed.

Evie was in shock. Had that really just happened? _What even_ had just happened? She lost her best friend. Mal was gone and she didn't know if she would ever get her back. In that moment, she had never hated anyone more than she hated those damn twins. She never wanted to hurt anyone more than she wanted to hurt them. She knelt down next to Ben and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I swear to the Gods, I swear to _you_ , we're going to fix this. They are going to pay." She didn't know if he had actually heard her or not, but she was going to keep her word regardless. She owed it to him. Owed it to herself. Owed it to _Mal_.

"How did they even manage to get their hands on Lori?"

"She said she needed a minute before she joined us downstairs. When she didn't show up, I just… I just assumed that meant she wasn't coming. I didn't know it was because… because…." Thea continued to cry as Finn tightened his hold on her. "It's all my fault!"

"It's not your fault," he reassured sternly. He held onto his girlfriend while he watched his best friend carefully. Chris didn't look too good either.

"Can someone please explain to me why Mal just stole Fairy Godmother's wand?" Belle requested in an eerily calm voice, needing to back track a bit. "And who are these two?"

"I'm Amy, Mal's twin sister. This is Freddie, Dr. Facilier's daughter."

Belle nodded, seemingly unfazed that Mal had a secret identical twin sister. "And Mal?"

"We think the twins did something to her, cursed her. That's why she's been acting weird," Jay explained while the others agreed.

"And what about the boy she took?"

"Scott, son of Scar. He was initially going to help them steal the wand. But he changed his mind and told us what they were planning. Mal found out somehow, and she clearly wasn't happy about it," Freddie added.

Adam sighed as he rubbed a hand across his face. He slowly paced as he thought. "What are we going to do now?" He watched his son. Ben still hadn't moved from his place on the floor. Evie was still trying to comfort him, but he could see that it wasn't working. Mal was really the only one who could have done anything to help him.

"Is there anything that we _can_ do?" Fairy Godmother asked. She was unusually pessimistic. Not her cheery self at all.

In fairness, nobody was really themselves. This whole situation had taken its toll on everyone.

"She's right," Carlos agreed. "One of the most powerful fairies, sorceresses, in all of Auradon now has the most powerful wand in all of Auradon. And she's probably on her way to the Isle to do God knows what."

Everyone sighed in defeat. He was right. They were powerless to do anything. They couldn't stop this. All they could do was wait.

"What about the people? What do we tell them?" Fairy Godmother asked the former king and queen, remembering that there was still a ballroom full of people just down the hall.

"We have to tell them what's going on," Adam reasoned.

"Won't that just cause them to panic?" Amy asked. Her mind running a mile a minute trying to think of some sort of solution to this problem.

"Well, what else can we do? Wait until Mal and the others invade? They need to be able to protect themselves."

"What difference will it make? She has the wand. Not to mention Lori, a demigod. And whoever she decides to pluck from the Isle," Freddie countered.

"Ever the optimist," Jay muttered as Freddie shot him a ' _this is not the time for jokes_ ' look.

"We should be thinking of ways to break the spell over Mal," Evie proclaimed, suddenly a part of the conversation. She held a fire in her eyes that no one had ever seen before. "If we can get Mal back on our side, then maybe we'll have a fighting chance."

"What about true love's kiss?" Lonnie suggested hopefully. "That can break any spell, right?"

Chad snorted. "Like she'd let any of us, let alone Ben, anywhere near her."

"Point taken."

"Is there an antidote or something that we could make?"

Fairy Godmother shrugged. "I'd have to check my spell books. Even then, I don't know what spell they used on her in the first place."

"What's the point?" Ben said from his place on the floor. "There's no way we're defeating her."

"You don't know that."

He finally stood. "Have any of you considered that there is no way to stop this? That maybe this is just what the future holds?"

"I can't- I _won't_ believe that. I _refuse_ to believe that." Audrey crossed her arms over her chest. She knew he was hurting, but this was no time for him to give up. They needed him to be level headed. They needed him to be a king. A leader.

"What if the only way to break the spell is to kill her? What then?"

Everyone was taken aback. Never had Ben been so despondent. He was usually the most positive, the most hopeful of all of them.

"If that's the case, then we'll deal with it when we get there."

"But it won't be the case," Carlos said. "The twins may have somehow mustered enough brain cells between the two of them to spell Mal, but there is no way they had enough to pick a strong enough spell. Or enough power. And Mal is tough, she's no doubt fighting it. We'll get her back. In one piece. That's a gurantee."

"So, what now?"

"We have to tell everyone," Adam repeated. "We need to be prepared. We can't let them take us by surprise."

* * *

"Please explain to me why we're only breaking out Gaston." Mal was irritated as she and the twins stood on the beach, staring at the Isle. There is no way she went through all of that to just break out _one man_.

"I told you already. We break out Dad, and then we rule Auradon. With no competition." Gaston Jr. draped his arm over Mal's shoulders.

She growled, grabbed his arm, and twisted. Hard. "Touch me again, and I swear you'll lose more than a limb."

He only smirked.

"What about the prisoners?" Gaston III asked.

"What about them?"

"What are we going to do with them?"

"Well, after we break out your father, we're going to get them some company."

"Let's get this party started!"

* * *

 **Okay, so I feel the need to apologize. I know people say that I don't have to apologize. But... I feel the need to. Like... I don't even know why I haven't updated. That's not true. I _do_ know, but... yeah. I've been super busy with school. I don't think you guys understand. I'm a major procrastinator. It's 11:50 p.m. where I am on a Sunday and I haven't finished my homework yet. I've barely started. So... yeah. I know. Personal problem. You guys don't really care about all of that.**

 **Anywayyyyy... I hope you all enjoyed that chapter. Did you guys see that coming? Were you surprised at all? What do you think is gonna happen next? Lemme know. I would love another distraction (I have a problem). But seriously, pm me or review is you wanna talk or you have any ideas. I would love to hear them.**

 **Thanks to everyone who reviewed, favorited, or followed. Thanks to everyone for just reading. It means so much to me. Please don't feel obligated to do any of these things.**

 **A special thanks to pinksakura271 for letting me use her OC Amy. She's seriously the best.**


End file.
